Only 11,272 foreign nationals in India have Aadhaar, Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said on Thursday (Nov 06, 2025) citing UIDAI data as he attacked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for allegedly claiming that a huge number of foreigners have the document.
In a post on X, Mr Gokhale shared a copy of the reply given by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Director General Bhuvnesh Kumar to his letter asking for the number of Aadhaars issued to foreign nationals.
“I have written to the UIDAI asking how many Aadhaar cards in India have been issued to foreign nationals. The answer? Only 11,272 foreigners,” Mr Gokhale said in his post.
“Over the past year, HM Amit Shah and the BJP have claimed that Aadhaar cards have been issued to a huge number of illegal foreign migrants in India. It is important to note that Aadhaar cards are issued by UIDAI under the Modi government and not by state governments,” he said.
He said if the UIDAI knows that only 11,272 foreigners have Aadhaar cards, it is clear that the rest are Indian citizens.
“In that case, why does the ECI say that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as proof of citizenship?” he asked.
The Election Commission of India had initially ruled out Aadhaar as an identity proof for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it was not a proof of citizenship.
But following the Supreme Court’s direction, the probe panel included it as the 12th document on the indicative list.
“The ECI started accepting Aadhaar for the SIR (Silent Invisible Rigging) exercise only after the Supreme Court ordered it,” Mr. Gokhale said.
The Rajya Sabha member also criticized Mr Shah for claiming that “millions of foreign migrants” had Aadhaar cards.
“If UIDAI knows the number of foreigners who hold Aadhaar cards, why did Amit Shah falsely claim that millions of foreign migrants hold Aadhaar?” asked a TMC leader.
Responding to a debate on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha in March this year, Mr Shah accused the TMC, which rules West Bengal, and the Congress, which once ruled Assam, of allowing Rohingyas and Bangladeshis to enter India and issuing them Aadhaar and voter cards.
It takes “10 seconds” to detect a fake Aadhaar because it is linked to biometrics, Mr. Gokhale said.
“A quick scan of the QR code on the Aadhaar can show if it is fake. So why is Amit Shah saying that fake Aadhaars are being used?” he said.
The lawmaker said that of the 142 million Aadhaars that exist in India, the number issued to foreign nationals is reduced to only 0.007%.
“It is clear that ECI is backdooring NRC using the excuse of SIR… ECI is using SIR (Silent Invisible Rigging) to wipe out voters and steal citizenship from average Indians who don’t vote BJP,” he said.
The SIR exercise began in West Bengal on November 4 and faced stiff opposition from the TMC, with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee holding a rally against it in Kolkata on the same day.
In his reply to Mr Gokhale, the Director General of UIDAI said that the Aadhaar (Targeted Provision of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 defines a resident as an individual who has resided in India for a period or periods aggregating one hundred and eighty two days or more during the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment.
It said eligible foreign nationals are entitled to Aadhaar, which they can use to establish identity for purposes such as issuing a mobile number and opening bank accounts.
It said that a total of 11,272 Aadhaar numbers have been issued till date under the category of “permanent resident aliens” and a limited validity Aadhaar is being issued to permanent resident aliens, with the same validity as their visa.
Overseas citizens of India are issued Aadhaar valid for ten years.
IMPORTANT: ONLY 11,272 foreign nationals in India have Aadhaar cards
During the last one year HM Amit Shah & BJP have claimed that Aadhaar cards have been issued to huge number of illegal foreign migrants in India. It is important to note that Aadhaar cards are issued by a company… pic.twitter.com/cGyecWcmVu
— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) November 6, 2025
Published – 06 Nov 2025 19:33 IST
