AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 10234 - Modi-Kejriwal cold handshake: Social media abuzz over PM's body language with AAP chief at CM's meet as the Governors' issue clouds centre-state relations

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, August 4, 2016

10234 - Modi-Kejriwal cold handshake: Social media abuzz over PM's body language with AAP chief at CM's meet as the Governors' issue clouds centre-state relations - Daily Mirror

Modi-Kejriwal cold handshake: Social media abuzz over PM's body language with AAP chief at CM's meet as the Governors' issue clouds centre-state relations

By MAIL TODAY BUREAU

PUBLISHED: 09:08 +10:00, 17 July 2016 |

That awkward handshake that summed up uncomfortable relationship between PM Modi and CM Kejriwal

An awkward handshake on Saturday summed up the uncomfortable relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

In videos from the Inter-State Council meeting held in New Delhi that went viral, the PM is seen spending only a fraction of a second holding the AAP chief’s hand even as he looked relaxed in the presence of other chief ministers, including those from non-BJP states.

Kejriwal has been a bitter critic of the Prime Minister, often blaming him for all the ills plaguing the Delhi government.

From questioning his educational qualifications to sending vitriolic tweets, the CM has not missed an opportunity to target Modi.

The 11th meeting of the Inter- State Council- that looks at disputes between states and between the states and Centre - saw the presence of many formidable opponents of the BJP such as Nitish Kumar of Bihar and Mamata Banerjee from West Bengal.

None of them allowed the friction to come in the way during the informal greetings at the all- important event that came against the backdrop of the Arunachal Pradesh controversy, with the BJP receiving a setback in the Supreme Court which reinstated the state’s ousted Congress government.

Even Congress chief minister Harish Rawat, whose government in Uttarakhand was nearly toppled by the BJP, was seen greeting the Prime Minister with warmth.

In his inaugural address at the conference, the Prime Minister even singled out Congress-ruled Karnataka for reducing the consumption of kerosene and getting 75 per cent of the savings from the Centre.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with others at the eleventh Inter-State Council Meeting in New Delhi

“The government of Karnataka, while moving swiftly on this initiative, has sent its proposal to the Petroleum Ministry. This has been accepted and the grant has been disbursed to the state government,” he said.

Modi also said that the states’ share in central taxes has gone up from 32 to 42 per cent, which meant availability of greater resources to the state.

I am happy to share that the total amount received by states from the Centre during 2015-16 is 21 per cent higher than the amount received in 2014-15. Similarly, panchayats and urban local bodies will receive 2.87 lakh crore rupees during the 14th finance commission, which is substantially higher than last time,” he said.

The Prime Minister also shared with the chief ministers that 102 crore Aadhaar cards have been distributed in the country of 128 crore people.

Among adults, 96 per cent of the people now have Aadhaar cards.

In his concluding remarks too, the Prime Minister said that the near total acceptance of Aadhaar as a tool to promote good governance and transparency will result in savings to the exchequer.

He also discussed security issues and told the chief ministers that happenings across the world cannot be ignored, in light of the deadly terrorist attack in the French city of Nice.

He stressed on the importance of a good CCTV network and maintaining a visible presence of police forces.