Family ID cards for J&K resident; opposition parties decry govt plan

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir’s main opposition parties have slammed the government over its plan to issue a unique alpha-numeric code to each family of the Union Territory for identification purposes to avail various social welfare schemes.

“This family ID is nowhere in India…it is another attack on our identity as by creating these numbers government is trying that J&K residents are known by numbers not by names,” said former chief minister and National Conference (NC) vice president Omar Abdullah while speaking at a party workers’ rally in southern Anantnag on Tuesday.

Earlier in a tweet, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mehbooba Mufti said, “Creating a unique family ID for J&K residents is emblematic of the widening trust deficit especially post-2019. Kashmiris are viewed with deep suspicion.” She added, “This is another surveillance tactic to tighten the iron grip on their lives.

A digital vision document for J&K released by Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khatter during the national conference on e-governance held in Katra town of the UT recently unveils the government’s plan to create an “authentic, verified and reliable database” of all the families.

An official spokesman here said that the objective of allocating each family a unique alpha-numeric code called JK Family ID under this plan is to make the selection of eligible beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes easy. He added that the data would be collected in a digital format with the consent of the family and the family ID to be provided based on it will be at par with Haryana’s ‘Parivaar Pehchaan Patra’.

But while questioning the proposed move, Abdullah asked, “For what the government is to give unique ID to every household. Doesn’t every person have an Aadhaar card? Many also have Pan and other numbers”.

He added, “If we will have to save our identity and get rid of these numbers, people must participate in Assembly elections and answer them with their votes.”

The Congress has accused the government of trying to “peek into everything.” It and the NC pointed out that the government agencies have already obtained sufficient data through Aadhaar which is used to provide benefits like the direct bank transfer (DBT) mode to the deserving citizens.

However, the BJP has welcomed the proposed move and said that it would lessen the difficulties of the people in availing benefits under various social welfare schemes.