Posted at: Feb 3, 2018, 1:37 AM; last updated: Feb 3, 2018, 10:51 AM (IST)
| Electronic and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. File photo |
Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 2
Union IT and Electronics Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said in the Rajya Sabha that the Aadhaar data was fully secure, and “not a single instance of its breach had come to light”.
To a question by Samajwadi Party MP Neeraj Shekhar, Prasad claimed the report about Aadhaar data being sold was “completely false”. Shekhar sought to know whether the government was aware that more than a billion unrestricted Aadhaar details were available on WhatsApp for a mere Rs 500.
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The Tribune had recently carried a report, ‘Rs 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details’, mentioning how the UIDAI data had found its way to unauthorised agents, who were selling it for Rs 500.
The SP leader went on to inquire whether the UIDAI had filed an FIR against the whistleblowers.
In a written reply, Prasad claimed the (Tribune) report was a case of “misreporting and was completely false”. “UIDAI has, for the purpose of grievance handling, provided a search facility to state government officials, which provides demographic information of a person whose enrolment ID or Aadhaar is provided. The reported case was a misuse of the facility.”
The minister said the Delhi Police had registered an FIR against unknown persons. However, Shekhar claimed the minister was “lying” that no person had been named.