By The New Indian Express
Published: 14th March 2016 06:00 AM
The Aadhaar card has more or less become a reality of our life with the Lok Sabha passing the Bill on March 12. It was a good idea to make it a part of the Finance Bill so that it did not have to be cleared by the Upper House. As the ruling party does not enjoy majority in the Rajya Sabha, it could have faced the same fate as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill. Now there is only one hitch facing Aadhaar. The Supreme Court has ruled that while the card could be used on a voluntary basis, the government cannot deny citizens their rights simply because they do not have Aadhaar.
What is most encouraging is that 97 per cent of adult citizens in the country have already obtained Aadhaar cards. Nearly 60 per cent of children have also received the cards. Given the fact that everyday seven lakh people are issued new cards, the target of cent per cent coverage is within reach. In view of the recent developments, the apex court can be expected to take a more lenient view. To be effective, all government subsidies like the ones on liquid petroleum gas (LPG), food materials and payments under the employment guarantee scheme should be linked to Aadhaar. The hundreds of crores of rupees spent on preparing and delivering the cards can be recovered if corruption in subsidy payments can be stopped. That is why the Central and state governments have been keenly implementing the programme. Significantly enough, in the short debate on the Bill, the Opposition seemed to register its protest just for formality. In fact, it showed an element of eagerness to welcome the Bill.
True, the Opposition raised concerns over the biometric and other details the government has gathered for the card. Since private agencies are involved in collecting the personal details of the people, there are concerns that such information could be a security risk. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has listed the steps the government is contemplating to protect this information. But, as one of the MPs pointed out, there is the danger of classifying people on the basis of at least four classes. Such divisions will have dangerous consequences for the country and the government would do well to honour its promises.