BJP attacks Aadhaar scheme, says it violates right to privacy

New Delhi: The UIDAI, which has run into controversies recently, came under fresh attack with the BJP alleging that the Aadhar card issued by it to citizens as a unique identification does not have Parliament’s approval and has been rejected by one of the key committees of the House. “The reality is that the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, which gives sanction to this particular card was rejected by the standing committee on Finance,” BJP Vice President Smriti Irani said, alleging that the programme violates the constitutional right to privacy. [caption id=“attachment_1186865” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  AFP[/caption] She was speaking at a programme on Aadhar here. “The reality is striking for me as an Indian that a concept which does not have the sanction of Parliament today is collecting bio-metric data which violates the constitutional right to privacy,” she said. BJP has questioned the Aadhaar scheme and argued that it should not be given to those who do not have bona fide papers and citizenship. It has alleged that several illegal migrants have got Aadhaar cards. “While the Aadhar card is one of the most ambitious projects that the government speaks about, the reality is that they are awaiting a Supreme Court decision regarding this,” Irani said. She went on to add that governance was not only about ‘what’ but also about ‘how’. The BJP leader said that while the country celebrates the rising level of literacy, the reality is that the latest figures reveals that 50 percent of our children – boys and girls– drop out of school at the secondary level. “In rural areas, only six percent are graduates and in urban areas, it is only 22 percent and I say this today because for a nation’s journey to be fruitful one can determine the milestones when one totally accepts the stark reality and challenges that are before us today,” she added. Speaking at the same programme earlier, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani had said the authority will beat the target of generating 60 crore Aadhaar numbers before schedule in the next few months. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman said 46 crore Aadhaar numbers have been given so far. “By 2014, there was a target to generate 60 crore aadhar numbers. We will beat this before schedule in next few months. So far 46 crore Aadhar numbers have been given. In September we added 2.5 crore Aadhar numbers,” Nilekani said. PTI