AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8787 - After praising Aadhaar in US, PM Narendra Modi calls for 100% enrolment by December

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Friday, October 2, 2015

8787 - After praising Aadhaar in US, PM Narendra Modi calls for 100% enrolment by December - Economic Times

After praising Aadhaar in US, PM Narendra Modi calls for 100% enrolment by December

By Surabhi Agarwal, ET Bureau | 1 Oct, 2015, 02.53AM IST

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a review meeting of Aadhaar enrolments soon after returning from the Silicon Valley, where he heaped praise on the unique identity project. At the meeting held Wednesday afternoon, Modi asked state governments to expedite the enrolment and issue Aadhaar numbers to 100% of their population by December, officials in the know told ET.

Chief secretaries of all states joined the meeting under the Pragati initiative, which was started to monitor and review important projects of the government. The review coincides with Aadhaar completing five year of issuing the first number in September 29, 2010. "Already around 92 crore numbers have been issued, which constitutes 77% of the entire population of the country and 92% of the adult population," a government official privy to the development told ET. Of people who are yet to be issued Aadhaar, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number at 8 crore, followed by 5 crore in Bihar and 2.9 crore in West Bengal.

Meanwhile, many more states and regulators have joined the central government, the Reserve Bank of India, and market regulator Sebi in filing applications for review of a Supreme Court order that limited the use of Aadhaar to just food and LPG subsidy transfer. The Supreme Court had on Tuesday agreed to hear a batch of pleas next week filed by the banking and markets regulators, along with the governments of Gujarat and Jharkhand, which sought clarification and modifications of the order.

According to officials, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan are also planning to file similar review applications. They are likely to be joined by telecom regulator Trai, insurance watchdog Irda and provident fund and pension regulator PFRDA which use in various capacities, said an official aware of the developments. "It is a massive show of support for Aadhaar," said the person who did not wish to be identified.

Despite criticising the scheme before coming to power, the Modi government has adopted Aadhaar — a pet scheme of the earlier UPA regime — for many of its marquee projects.

Speaking in the Silicon Valley, Modi had said the scheme has helped in reducing gas subsidy leakages of nearly .`29 lakh crore at older gas rates. "Earlier, nearly 19 crore people used to claim gas subsidy and the government had to pay for it. When we joined Aadhaar and Jan Dhan account, it came down to 13-14 crore," he told a packed auditorium at the SAP centre. "This is part of my JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) Yojana." ET had reported last week that the Centre and some state governments are planning to seek a review of the order which has virtually made all other linkages except for LPG and Food illegal.

RBI was the first to file the application in the top court seeking clarity on whether banks can continue to use the unique identification number as an identity and address proof for opening accounts. Senior advocate Jayant Bhushan is representing the central bank in this matter, while Harish Salve is arguing on behalf of the government of Gujarat and advocate Tushar Mehta is appearing on behalf of Sebi.

Over the last one month, Aadhaar has received blow after blow. The Election Commission, Employees Provident Fund Organisation, ministry of rural development (MGNREGA), and the finance ministry administering the Jan Dhan Yojana have issued directives to reconsider or halt their ongoing linkages with the project to avoid contempt of court. In August, the Supreme Court had ruled that Aadhaar will not be used for any other purposes except PDS, kerosene and LPG distribution system. It also said that the information received by UIDAI shall not be used for any other purposes, except in criminal investigation with the permission of the court.

While RBI has sought clarification as to whether an account can be opened in a bank on the basis of the Aadhaar for providing the benefit of pension or for getting paid for the job guarantee scheme under MNREGA, Sebi wanted to use Aadhaar voluntarily in the securities market for know your customers (KYC) proof. Raising issues similar to the RBI, Jharkhand, in its plea, sought to use Aadhaar in payments of pension and seek a declaration from pensioners that they are alive.