Disconnect my phone but won't link Aadhaar to my number: Mamata

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New Delhi: In open defiance of a Department of Telecom (DoT) directive to link Aadhaar with mobile numbers, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she is ready to lose her connection but won't comply.

Questioning the motive behind linking Aadhaar with phone numbers, Mamata said won't follow the directive. "I will not link Aadhaar with phone. If they want to disconnect my phone, let them," she said on Wednesday. In the past, she has repeatedly criticised the Centre for making Aadhaar mandatory - calling it against poor and raising privacy-related questions.

She is not alone.

There are a number of petitions in the Supreme Court challenging decision to link Aadhaar to phone numbers and bank accounts.

The apex court is scheduled to hear these petitions - which question if it is mandatory - on October 30.