Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s crackdown on illegal aliens continues apace. The state cabinet’s latest order banning issuance of Aadhaar cards for those above 18 except Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and tea garden workers is a bid to prevent ‘Bangladeshis’ from illegally entering Assam and getting Aadhaar cards to prove their citizenship. Justifying the move, Sarma cited saturation coverage of 103 per cent for Aadhaar in the general community and 96 per cent for the SCs, STs and tea garden workers, who will get a one-year window to get their Aadhaar cards. The move will be enforced from October 1. Any adult seeking an Aadhaar card after that will have to apply to the district commissioner, and they will be issued only in the rarest of rare cases. This order comes........

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