AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 2284 - Setback for Planning Commission as Singh bats for UID

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

Thursday, January 26, 2012

2284 - Setback for Planning Commission as Singh bats for UID - Daily Mail UK

By MAIL TODAY REPORTER

Last updated at 10:40 AM on 26th January 2012

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has intervened to end the clash between the home ministry and the Planning Commission over the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) and its much-hyped Aadhaar scheme.

The PM convened an 'informal' meeting of senior ministers and government functionaries on Wednesday to find a way out as both home minister P. Chidambaram and plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia had refused to budge from their stand.

The home ministry had objected to the collection of biometric data by the UIDAI, headed by Nandan Nilekani, contending that the task came under its domain for its National Population Register (NPR) project.

The UIDAI counters that and has Ahluwalia's firm backing. Sources said at the meeting, it was decided to brief the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI on 'various ways' to settle the dispute.

The PM wants continuation of the Aadhaar scheme, though the home ministry and Parliament's committee on finance have expressed concerns over several aspects of the UID project.

The meeting was attended by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, apart from Chidambaram, Nilekani and Ahluwalia.

Union Home Minister P.Chidambaram pictured left objects to the UID project being pushed forward by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission for India Montek Singh Ahluwalia pictured right

The meeting informally decided to continue with both the projects. The suggestions emerged will be sent to the Cabinet Committee on UIDAI, which is expected to meet on Friday.

'I think we have come to an agreement on how both the projects can proceed together without any difficulty.

'The Cabinet Committee on UIDAI was rescheduled and will happen on Friday. We are quite hopeful that we will have a resolution of these issues in that meeting,' Ahluwalia said after the twohour- long meeting. Ahluwalia expressed satisfaction at the developments.

'We are moving towards very satisfactory conclusion. There were different views. We reviewed different issues,' he said.

He added that the home ministry's NPR project for constructing digital database of residents could continue along with UIDAI.

'I think that there is agreement that both the projects can move ahead and ways can be found that will avoid avoidable duplication.

'That was the key issue. I will sent the supplementary note to Cabinet,' he added.

The home ministry has been pointing out that since the NPR being prepared by it has been collecting biometrics of citizens, the UIDAI's efforts will be a duplication.

The ministry had presented its views on this issue before the standing committee on finance.

Raising questions over the collection of biometric data by the UIDAI, the home secretary had recently written to the cabinet secretary that the matter be taken to the Cabinet at the earliest for a clear cut direction on both the schemes.

The home ministry has already prepared five lakh resident identity cards after collecting biometrics of one crore people in coastal villages of nine states and four Union territories as part of the initial phase of the NPR project.

Under the Aadhaar scheme, about 20 crore residents will get UID numbers in the first phase.