AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13578 - People have seen through Narendra Modi’s dramebaazi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

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, May 25, 2018

13578 - People have seen through Narendra Modi’s dramebaazi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh - New Indian Express

People have seen through Narendra Modi’s dramebaazi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

Jairam Ramesh tells Amit Agnihotri that chances of a Congress-led coalition coming to power after 2019 cannot be ruled out as a large section of the electorate is disenchanted with the Prime Minister.

Published: 20th May 2018 01:34 AM | Last Updated: 20th May 2018 05:09 AM

| A+A A-

Former Union Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (File photo | PTI)

By Amit Agnihotri

Express News Service

A Congress-led coalition could well come to power at the Centre after the 2019 general elections as a large section of the people is disappointed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, says senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. In an exclusive interview with The New Sunday Express, he says demonetisation, faulty rollout of the goods and services tax regime, gross neglect of the farm crisis, rural distress and lack of job creation had contributed to the disenchantment against the Central government and would limit the BJP’s chances of returning to power. The Congress would, therefore, need to focus on forging a formidable alliance, address organisational issues and reach out to the voters. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has been claiming the party will dethrone Prime Minister Modi in the 2019 national elections.

What is your assessment?

I wish the Congress can get 272 Lok Sabha seats, but that is highly unlikely. We will plan to get 272, but it is difficult. I feel the BJP, too, is not in a position to get 272. There could be a coalition led by either the BJP or the Congress at the Centre. Whether Congress leads the coalition will depend on the numbers.

But would Rahul become the Prime Minister of that grouping?

Rahul recently said he would be Prime Minister if the Congress has 272. In case we have around 150, we would have to sit down with the allies to decide the prime ministerial candidate. Rahul meant that if we are in a position to choose the Prime Minister, then he would be the Congress candidate. Unlike Modi, who asserted in the BJP office in September 2013 that he wanted to be the prime ministerial candidate for 2014, Rahul has not claimed so.

I feel it is too early to start speculating on who will be Prime Minister. Every party is jostling for space, but only Congress has a nationwide presence. Mamata Banerjee cannot win seats outside West Bengal and KC Rao cannot win seats outside Telangana.

Can you tell us what kind of effort the Congress is putting in to build an Opposition grouping?

The Congress led a pre-poll alliance in 2004. Congress has prepoll allies like RJD, NCP, and NC, but it could have a pact with some parties only post-poll. The BJP, in comparison, will have only two pre-poll allies, Shiv Sena and Akali Dal, but both are unhappy with the saffron party.

What are the three big failures of the Modi government that the Congress can highlight?

Neglect of the farm sector, distress in rural areas and disconnect between Modi’s claims and the reality. A very large section of India is disappointed with Modi. He has not done what he claimed. Second, he has been claiming he has done many things, but that is not the reality. Third, the style of his governance is hollow, there is a lot of ‘dramabaazi’. People have seen through it and are becoming increasingly disenchanted with him.

What about jobs?

Rahul Gandhi keeps saying it is the biggest challenge before the country… Jobs have always been a big issue and it did not start with Modi. But what we are hearing now are completely bogus claims by the government that India does not have a job problem. The numbers of jobs created being cited are based on the intellectual dishonesty of the NITI Aayog and the Prime Minister. NITI economists like Surjit Bhalla and Rajeev Kumar have given up the pretence of honesty.

You have been a strong critic of Prime Minister Modi’s economic policies. Why?

Demonetisation was a bad idea implemented terribly as only a crank economist can think of such ideas. GST was a great idea but implemented forcibly. It was inevitable, but why did Modi oppose it for two years as Gujarat chief minister when the UPA tried to pass it?

From March 2011, Yashwant Sinha, as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance, took two and a half years to give its report on the GST Bill and then rejected it. Sinha also rejected the Aadhaar Bill, because of which the UPA could not provide legal backing. Modi consistently opposed GST as Gujarat chief minister. I met him in Gujarat, but he took a U-turn after becoming Prime Minister.

You had filed a plea in the Supreme Court on why the Aadhaar Bill was passed as a money Bill. In 2013, you had hailed the Aadhaar- based Direct Benefits Transfer as a game-changer. What is your take on the privacy controversy?

See, my petition in the Supreme Court is only limited to whether it was a money Bill or not. It was wrong to make it a money Bill. I moved five amendments, which were passed in the Rajya Sabha. Had they been incorporated in the Bill, they would have addressed the issues and there would have been no need for court cases. Aadhaar is a good idea for delivery of services, but the manner of its implementation is bad. Why do I need an Aadhaar for air tickets or a death certificate? The Modi government has made a mockery of Aadhaar.

I never thought I would need an Aadhaar and I did not have it till 2017. It is needed for people getting subsidies. Further, authentication of senior citizens is problematic. To be cautious, I had started DBT in phases, first in only 50 districts.

After Rahul took over as Congress chief in December, is the promised transformation in the party happening?

It is happening, not in one tsunami but in phases. Younger people are in charge of states. Rahul is conscious that he needs to take a legacy with him as people have spent careers in the party. He has to build his own team.

I think it would be 60 per cent young and 40 per cent seniors. Over time, the 60 per cent will become 70 per cent and the organisation will keep growing. For instance, Ashok Gehlot is now AICC in-charge of organisation. He has been in the NSUI, Youth Congress, was state unit chief, Union Minister and Chief Minister of Rajasthan. He is quintessentially Congress party but no longer a younger face.