The announcement by the Panchayati Raj minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh that voter cards would be used as ID for panchayat ministry benefits is an attempt to again exclude an entire section of people from the welfare programmes of the government. Among other things, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj coordinates and implements major national welfare programmes at the village level. We are talking about such schemes as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), renamed Viksit Bharat—Guarantee For Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, the Swachh Bharat Mission, PM-KISAN, etc. Under each of these schemes there are crores of people who benefit. Narrowing down the beneficiaries to those with voter........

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