AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12207 - Aadhaar can be sole ID proof for voting: Ex-CEC Krishnamurthy

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, November 3, 2017

12207 - Aadhaar can be sole ID proof for voting: Ex-CEC Krishnamurthy - Economic Times

Aadhaar can be sole ID proof for voting: Ex-CEC Krishnamurthy

PTI|

Updated: Oct 17, 2017, 03.10 PM IST

"ID proof may be Aadhaar card when you are using it for all other purposes. It can be used for election also," former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy said.

Big Change:

The end of Five-Year Plans: All you need to know

Former Chief Election Commissioner T S Krishnamurthy today favoured doing away with voter ID card and said Aadhaar can be the sole identity proof for voting.

At present, the Election Commission allows a number of documents, including passport, as identity proof in the absence of voter ID card.

"Today, we are having too many cards leading to so many complications. Don't introduce too many complications in the system. Time has come we should think of only one card, whatever be the card," Krishnamurthy said.

"ID proof may be Aadhaar card when you are using it for all other purposes. It can be used for election also," he said.

"Aadhaar itself can be made as an election ID card. Why do you want to have election ID card as well as Aadhaar? If all voters are covered by Aadhaar, then you should eliminate voter ID card and make Aadhaar the only ID for electoral purposes," Krishnamurthy told .

He said till the entire country is covered by Aadhaar, both the cards should be allowed as ID proof for voting.

"You can set a particular cut-off date, may be 2019 or 2020 or whatever, everybody should have Aadhaar card (for voting)", the former CEC said.

He also said there was no need for the Election Commission to "delink" Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly polls, and termed it an "avoidable controversy".

Krishnamurthy argued that Himachal Pradesh election could have been postponed by a few days to club it with that in Gujarat.

"I don't know why they should be delinked because it was an avoidable controversy, I thought. There was no need to delink them," the former CEC said.

"When the convention (holding elections to Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat simultaneously) has been so, it could have been easily followed, or even if there was difficulty, the Himachal elections could have been postponed by four or five days," he said.

The EC had on October 12 announced that the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh would be held in a single phase on November 9 and the results would be declared on December 18.

The poll panel did not announce the dates for Assembly elections in Gujarat, but Chief Election Commissioner A K Joti had said that the elections will be held before December 18.

On BJP MP Varun Gandhi reportedly terming the poll panel a "toothless tiger", Krishnamurthy said, "There is no power (with the poll panel) to deregister (derecognise parties), but whether it makes it (EC) toothless animal, I don't know."

Gandhi had reportedly said the Election Commission was a "toothless tiger" as it had never derecognised any political party for not submitting poll expenditure details within the stipulated time.

"Yes, there is no power (to derecognise parties), and that power should be available. Law can be amended to say that if you (EC) have power to register, you can deregister a party under certain circumstances," Krishnamurthy added