It is really unfortunate how political consideration overweight the national interest of India. The Congress led government
has taken many steps and launched many projects that were clearly
illegal in nature. Despite warnings from legal experts, the Congress
led government kept on pushing those projects at the cost of Indian
exchequer and civil liberties.
It seems the Congress led government was pursuing a
secret agenda in a desperate attempt to regain the power at the
centre. However, those efforts of Congress failed miserably and the
BJP led government came with a clear majority. The natural
question that has arisen is whether Modi government would
“simply step into the shoes of Congress” or actually protect the
Constitutional Rights of Indian Citizens, opines Praveen
Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm
Perry4Law
and leading techno legal expert of Asia.
One such unconstitutional project of Congress led
government is Aadhaar that should not have been started at all. The
problem with aadhaar project is that it was never implemented in a
legal
and constitutional manner. However, there were very few
individuals who raised their voices against this illegal project.
One of the early, stern and incessant opposers of
the Aadhaar project is Praveen Dalal who was the first one to demand
for scrapping
of Aadhaar project in the year 2010. Dalal claimed that
the UIDAI must not use public funds till provisions regarding the
same are incorporated in the law to be formulated by Parliament of
India. He still
believes that Aadhaar project must be scrapped till a
constitutional law supporting the project is in place as it is a
fraud
against the constitution.
According to Dalal, “The Aadhaar Project is the
most “Obnoxious”
and “Evil”
Project that Indian Government has been pursuing till now. In my
personal opinion, the very foundation of Aadhaar Project is based
upon “Lies
and Deception” and this Project should have been
“Scrapped” long before. However, the previous Government not only
deliberately kept this “Illegal and Unconstitutional Project”
alive but also wasted crore of “Hard Earned Public Money” on a
Project that is clearly Illegal and Unconstitutional. Narendra Modi
“Must
Scrap Aadhaar Project” as well along with the Cabinet
Committee on UIDAI, recommends Dalal.
Fortunately, the Constitutional
Validity of Aadhaar Project has been questioned in the
High Courts and Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court has even
held that Aadhaar Card/Number cannot
be made mandatory for availing public services in India.
The Supreme Court has also prohibited UIDAI from sharing
biometric data with Indian Government Agencies without
data owner’s consent. Even a Parliamentary Committed rejected the
proposed National
Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 finding it
“Inadequate and Unsuitable”, informs Dalal.
Fortunately, the Modi led government has considered
the suggestions of experts like Dalal and it is now considering
scrapping the Aadhaar project altogether. The intent of the Modi led
government to take such a move was apparent when Prime Minister Modi
decided to discontinue the previous government’s Cabinet committee
on the Unique Identification Authority of India.
“As the UIDAI has no legal backing, a decision
would soon be taken to scrap it and in its place the entire exercise
would be handed over to the NPR, which will not only provide Unique
ID number to a person but also establish bonafide citizenship,"
sources said. However, the NPR exercise has its own “Demerits and
Constitutional Issues” and they must be resolved first, warns
Dalal.
