Hats off to retired judge K. Puttaswamy for his public interest litigation plea which has resulted in a landmark order by the Supreme Court on the Aadhaar card (“Don’t tie up benefits to Aadhaar, court tells Centre,” Sept. 24). The interim order is a big blow to the UPA government. When we have a voter ID, ration card, driving licence, passport and other permanent identification, do we really need another ID in the form of the Aadhaar card? It is time the UPA think tank reviewed the merits of the unique identification card.
Prakash F. Madhwani,
Bangalore
Citizens can breathe easy, thanks to the Supreme Court. This time it has blocked an attempt by the government to foist an identity scheme using a technological smokescreen. Besides being flawed in its execution — like many other government schemes — the Aadhaar scheme encountered many reservations from civil society to a parliamentary standing committee.
But the government kept bulldozing people and even linked the LPG subsidies to the magic number. It has been proved once more that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
N.K .Raveendran,
Bangalore
The apex court order that no citizen should be denied benefits for not possessing the Aadhaar card, the showpiece of the UPA, is a huge setback to its think tank. I enrolled for the Aadhaar card on February 1; I am yet to get it. All my reminders have gone in vain. The order has come as a respite to many households.
A.V.S.Prakasa Rao,
Rajahmundry
One has to go through a lot of fine print to understand that Aadhaar is voluntary, not mandatory. This hasn’t been publicised enough, which is a violation of our right to know. Further, in the wake of the NSA’s snooping programme, one wonders how secure our biometric details are.
D. Harikrishnan,
Thiruvananthapuram
The petitioners have argued that the Aadhaar card infringes on citizens’ privacy. But a biometric card is necessary in view of the increasing acts of violence and terror. The Aadhaar card can act as a check on immigrants who settle down here without the necessary papers. The government should take steps to remove the irritants and implement the scheme forcefully.
G. Ramachandran,
Thiruvananthapuram
