Attacking the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for filing a criminal case against a journalist who exposed that Aadhaar data can easily be purchased for as little as ₹500, the Congress on Sunday said the decision showed that “the Modi government has become an oppressive government”.
“This government has become so authoritarian that whenever different intellectuals have pointed out shortcomings about government schemes, instead of addressing them, the government penalises them and files FIRs against them. This reflects a dictatorial mindset of the government. Instead of it being responsive, it is behaving as an oppressive government,” Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza said at a press briefing here.
For targeted welfare
Ms. Oza said the UPA had thought of Aadhaar to provide every citizen a unique identity and as a means to ensure that social welfare schemes for economically weaker sections would effectively reach the targeted groups.
But even then, it was opposed by Mr. Modi, who was then the Gujarat Chief Minister, as a threat to security.
“Flashback April 2014 and we will witness the absolute hypocrisy with which the then Gujarat CM, Shri Narendra Modi had attacked Aadhaar and the UPA government on its possible ‘security threat’,” Ms. Oza said.
She then read out a tweet from Mr. Modi where, as Gujarat Chief Minister, he had claimed that the UPA government had failed to answer his concerns on security.
The Congress spokesperson said the Bengaluru-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) had found in May 2017 that data of over 130 million Aadhaar card holders had been leaked from four government websites.
Privacy disregarded
The Congress’s communication chief, Randeep Surjewala, said the Modi government never respected the “right to privacy as a fundamental right” and the latest episode reiterated that.
“‘Intent’ and ‘Intentions’ of Modi Govt on Privacy were thoroughly exposed when it had proclaimed that ‘no citizen can have an absolute right over his/her body’. In SC, Modi Govt had accepted Aadhaar data leak! Now instead of investigating, an evasive Modi ji shoots the messenger!,” Mr. Surjewala said on Twitter.
