Skip to main content

Unsign aadhaar MoU, set example for other states: Plea to West Bengal chief minister

By Our Representative
In a representation to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a senior civil rights defender has said that the state home department's MoU with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) dated July 1, 2010 is "outdated" and it "imperils the autonomy of the state and the citizens", asking her to "unsign" the MoU.
Dr Gopal Krisha of the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties asserted in his representation, "Your considered intervention will pave the way for other states to act on this MoU, which is facilitating unlimited and indiscriminate mass surveillance and mass spying at the behest of World Bank's eTransform Initiative and it's partners since 2010."
The West Bengal MoU was signed by AG Ghosh, OSD and ex-officio special secretary on behalf of the home department, West Bengal government, with Shri Nirmal Kumar Sinha, deputy director-general, UIDAI, Planning Commission.
Welcoming Banerjee's letter to the Prime Minister which said that "Aadhaar is becoming inactive", Krishna said, "I wish to inform you that in the aftermath of Aadhaar Act, 2016 (as amended in 2019), Hon'ble Supreme Court's verdict of September 26,2018, and November 13, 2019, there is a logical and legal compulsion for states to unsign their MoUs with UIDAI."
He added, these MoUs were signed in the pre-Aadhaar Act era and continue to operate in the era when "unconstitutional Sections like Section 57 of Aadhaar Act was recognised and declared as unconstitutional and illegitimate by our Hon'ble Supreme Court's verdict of September 26, 2018 and by the deletion of Section 57 by the amendment of 2019 in Aadhaar Act."
Claiming that the verdict of November 13, 2019 "recognised that the entire Act is unconstitutional", Krishna said, "A 7-judge Constitution Bench has been constituted to declare it to be so in order to adhere to judicial discipline", underlining, "No sane person will wait for formal announcement of poison to desist from consuming poison."
Calling Aadhaar Act "a poisonous" and "a black law akin to the colonial law which was bitterly resisted by Mahatma Gandhi's first satyagraha", he added, "Our Hon'ble Chief Justice of India has declared this law to be a fraud on the Constitution of India in his order dated September 26, 2018. He has reiterated it on at least two more occasions."
"In this backdrop", Krishna noted, "Constitutional, legal, judicial and political imagination creates a logical compulsion to resist this law which creates an architecture of unlimited government based on 360 degree surveillance. It is eroding the constitutionally mandated autonomy of states beyond repair."

Comments

TRENDING

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Campaign group urges INDIA alliance to release Jharkhand manifesto to counter BJP’s 'divisive' agenda

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, an advocacy group, has issued a press release urging the INDIA alliance to release a Jharkhand-specific manifesto to counter the BJP’s "divisive" electoral agenda. With just two weeks remaining before the assembly elections, the INDIA coalition has yet to announce its plans and priorities for the state. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign, according to the press release, is centered around communalism, divisiveness, and distraction from Jharkhand's core issues.

Israel's 'war crime': 18,000 children died not just from bomb explosions but also starvation

By Sandeep Pandey*  Last year 6 years old Madiha was a guest during Diwali at our home in Lucknow. Listening to the sound of fire crackers bursting outside she remarked, ‘It appears as if we’re in Gaza.’ She has probably no idea of the extent of damage and loss of life that has taken place in Palestine but can relate to sound of crackers as bombs exploding over Gaza.

United organisations oppose privatisation of health services in Madhya Pradesh

By Our Representative  In a strong show of opposition, multiple health associations under the umbrella of the United Organisations for Action against Privatisation of Health Services have condemned the Government of Madhya Pradesh’s recent moves towards privatising public health facilities. They argue that these actions, including outsourcing and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, will compromise the availability and accessibility of essential health services for the state’s citizens.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.