AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8305 - Aadhaar linking: Pune voters' response still poor

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

Saturday, July 25, 2015

8305 - Aadhaar linking: Pune voters' response still poor - TNN

Aadhaar linking: Pune voters' response still poor

Sarang Dastane, TNN | Jul 19, 2015, 04.04AM IST

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PUNE: Many voters in the city and rural parts of Pune have not yet linked their Aadhaar number to voter identity cards. Of the 67 lakh voters in Pune district, only 10 lakh voters have submitted details to the administration in the special drive carried out in the last three months.

The poor response has prompted the administration to change its strategy. Now, booth-level officers (BLOs) will go door-to-door on Sunday to collect Aadhaar details from voters, in their respective areas, who have not submitted the information yet.

An official from the district election branch said, "The ongoing drive will end on July 31. We were expecting voters to come out on their own and submit the details. However, the response has been very poor. Only 10 lakh voters have given the details so far. The election commission has also given two more options to upload details — uploading information via SMS and through a website. These two processes also have got poor response."

The official said that the drive aims to authenticate the electoral roll by removing names that are repeating. The administration had not deleted names from the list in 2014 being an election year. By getting rid of the duplication, the administration will get the real statistics of voters in every assembly constituency.

Sources said that the administration had set a target of linking Aadhaar details and voter IDs of 80% of the voters. Special drives were held on Sundays to help voters to submit applications at polling stations but the turnout remained very low.

Meanwhile, the administration has taken up steps for uploading of information received through 10 lakh forms. Authorities have already uploaded details of about 2.30 lakh forms, while the remaining work will be done by next month. There are about 67 lakh voters spread in 21 assembly constituencies in Pune, of which 11 are in urban and 10 in rural parts.

About 80% people in the district have secured Aadhaar number so far. Efforts are being taken to increase the enrollment.

13,081 names deleted from electoral roll:

As many as 13,081 names of voters have been deleted from the electoral roll for reasons like death and duplication. Names were deleted after conducting panchanamas and completion of necessary procedures. Authorities said that they have listed more names for deletion. The block-level officers have been conducting panchanamas and verifying voters' addresses. The drive will continue on Sunday. Names will be removed if the people are not staying at the given addresses or in case of death, said the authorities.

* Total voters: 67 lakh

* Information received so far: 10 lakh

* Form processed: 2.31 lakh

Booth-level officers will make door-to-door visits and conduct panchanams for deletion of names.