AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 4803 - UIDAI Bill to give Aadhaar statutory status gets nod

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

Sunday, October 13, 2013

4803 - UIDAI Bill to give Aadhaar statutory status gets nod - Business Standard

Surabhi Agarwal | New Delhi October 9, 2013 Last Updated at 00:48 IST

UIDAI Bill to give Aadhaar statutory status gets nod

Centre claims to have addressed all issues on cost, privacy and technology raised by parliamentary panel, critics

To give a statutory recognition to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a National Identification Authority of India Bill.

This legal backing for the Aadhaar initiative might also improve the government’s chances of getting a favourable order from the Supreme Court, which had recently ruled that the unique identity number can’t be made mandatory for availing government benefits. One of the arguments against the use of Aadhaar was that it had been functioning so far on executive order. The court is expected to give a final order on the matter on October 22.

ALSO READ: Govt draws a watertight case for Aadhaar

The Bill cleared by the Cabinet is a “slightly modified” version of the earlier one, sent back by Parliament’s standing committee on finance, a panel chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha. “Most of the concerns expressed by the committee have been taken care of or are not valid,” said a top government official, requesting anonymity as the government did not make a formal announcement about the decision.

The new Bill is expected be tabled during the winter session of Parliament.

ALSO READ: The UID Crisis: Don't waste it

Some of the concerns raised by the parliamentary panel included the fact that UID does not give proof of citizenship and is for all residents, along with issues regarding the cost of the project and privacy of personal data.

The panel had also highlighted the issue that the scheme was voluntary but its linkage with government welfare schemes would make it mandatory.

“It has been reaffirmed that the UID number is clearly for all residents of India and the actual amount spent on the project so far is Rs 3,490 crore against the perception that the project entails some unreasonable expenditure,” said another government official. The fact that 440 million numbers have been generated so far rubbishes the fact that UIDAI’s technology is not proven, the official added.

ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against Aadhaar

However, it is still not clear what changes the government has made to the Bill and why it took almost two years for it to move the legislation again before the Cabinet.

The proposed legislation seeks to create a National Identification Authority of India, which will oversee the implementation of the Aadhaar project and “regulate it”. It also seeks to define the penalties in case of misuse of the data collected under the UID project.

These cover impersonation using Aadhaar data; unauthorised collection or dissemination of information, and unauthorized access to the central database, which will contain all individual details such as biometrics collected for Aadhaar. The Bill allows disclosure of personal information in case of national security; however, it forbids UIDAI officials to disclose any information stored in the database in general.