AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 4645 - Is he joining Congress? Nilekani says 'possibly'

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, September 27, 2013

4645 - Is he joining Congress? Nilekani says 'possibly' - Express News Service

Is he joining Congress? Nilekani says 'possibly'

Express News Service : Bangalore, Mumbai, Thu Sep 19 2013, 01:58 hrs

Is he joining Congress? Nilekani says 'possibly'

Express news service Posted online: Thu Sep 19 2013, 01:58 hrs

Bangalore, Mumbai : Nandan Nilekani (58), head of the Unique Identity project, is likely to join Congress and contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election as part of a party strategy to counter Narendra Modi with a line-up of credible candidates. Those who know him well said he was considering the prospect seriously. Asked if he was joining Congress, Nilekani said: “Possibly”.

If he does contest the election, Nilekani would become the first Indian to make the turnabout from a successful corporate big wheel to an important government functionary to a politician. His industry colleagues doubted his lasting power but Nilekani deftly manoeuvred himself through the labyrinth of Delhi politics and has endeared himself to politicians and chief ministers across parties.

He has been approached as Congress desperately needs accomplished candidates to boost its image and attract the huge number of first-time urban voters. “Fielding Nilekani will send the right signal not just to Bangalore but all of urban India,” a Congress leader said.

Nilekani is said to be in the inner circle of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, and is reportedly also close to PM Manmohan Singh.

He certainly has the standing, having co-founded Infosys and spearheaded the gamechanging technology initiative to provide biometric identities to billion-plus Indians. When he was CEO of Infosys in the 1990s, he headed Bangalore Agenda Task Force to improve infrastructure of the city with the state government. In 2009, the billionaire quit the Infosys board to head the UID scheme.

Nilekani does not figure on a short list of candidates for the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Bangalore being prepared by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) but has been discussed at the party high command level, insiders said.

“The state list for Bangalore North, South and Central constituencies does not feature Nilekani. But he is in a different category that is the high command’s prerogative,” sources in Karnataka Congress said.

The candidature of Nilekani was definitely on the table for the Bangalore South seat that has a large number of IT workers and had been discussed at the highest level, if not in the state, they said.

Among the reasons Nilekani is being considered is that he “does not need introduction, he is urban and fulfills caste combination requirements’’, the sources said.