By IANS
Patna : The Delhi government’s decision to make identity cards mandatory for citizens from Jan 15 has generated howls of protest in Bihar.
State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has opposed it, saying it would affect the livelihood of thousands of migrant labourers from Bihar working in the national caspital.
Nitish Kumar has sent a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, condemning the decision.
Hundreds of people took out marches and burnt effigies of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Sunday in protest against the issue.
“There is a growing tendency among higher ups in Delhi to ridicule Biharis. The whole exercise appears to be a sinister design to target the people of Bihari origin,” Kumar said in a four-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Nitish Kumar also expressed his unhappiness over the Delhi government’s decision. He said nobody can claim jurisdiction over Delhi and added that contribution of Bihari people cannot be ignored.
He urged the centre to intervene in the matter and order an immediate repeal of the proposal suggested by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna.
Nitish Kumar requested the prime minister not to allow the violation of citizens’ right to have freedom of movement in the country.
“The constitution has given freedom to all citizens to move and settle anywhere in the country. The mandatory ID proof is an attack on the fundamental rights of citizens,” he said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state vice-president Lalita Singh Yadav also condemned the proposal and demanded Khanna’s resignation, saying his diktat reminded her of Muhammed bin Tughlaq, the 14th century ruler who was known for imposing rules and policies that were ineffective and meaningless.
Former chief minister and senior Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Jagannath Mishra also urged the prime minister to intervene in the matter.
Earlier, activists of the Samta Sainik Dal and JD-U students’ wing members took out protest marches and burnt effigies of Gandhi and Dikshit.
JD-U student wing activists also threatened to launch a statewide agitation against the decision.
“The decision of the Delhi government to make ID proof mandatory will hit thousands of migrant labourers from Bihar going to Delhi in search of livelihood,” an activist said.
He said most of the migrant labourers from Bihar do not carry any ID proof.
“They will be unnecessarily harassed by the police,” he said.
Khanna had said the decision to verify the identity of citizens has been taken to step up security in the capital in the wake of terror attacks in various parts of the country.