Moitra on Aadhaar: Can't have cart before horse
New Delhi: Opposing the Aadhaar Bill 2016 in Lok Sabha on Thursday, Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha lawmaker Mahua Moitra said that the bill violates the Supreme Court judgement and lacks transparency.
"How can I be debating the bill and be able to give assent for something I am not clear about and which is not transparent about, sir," she said, asking for more transparency in the measure during a debate on the bill.
"This bill strikes at the very heart of the primacy of an individual, and privacy of an individual's data. This is what the Supreme Court in their judgement also tried to talk about. There are three very problematic clauses in this amended bill," Moitra said.
She said that Aadhaar was meant to provide services to the poor and was never meant to provide data.
"Aadhaar has become a way to give information for private entities, my bank who has contracted to me, my telecom provider who has no business getting my biometric information", the Trinamool lawmaker said.
"I'm giving up my biometric data, my most personal data to a private agency. If Aadhaar ecosystem fails you're saying that there are viable means to recourse but I don't know what they are. They haven't been specified," Moitra said.
Speaking about section 5 of the bill, she stated, "There is no standard of privacy and security today. There is no data protection act. In the absence of data protection, how can you ask me to give up my information to a private agency? This is integral to the Bill, you can't have the cart before the horse. You give us recourse put a viable framework we will give assent there is no problem."
Moitra also urged Lok Sabha Speaker to open it to public consultation and have a closer scrutiny by referring the Bill to a Standing Committee. While opposing the bill, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said that the government used the ordinance route to bring in the legislation.
He said that the ordinance was issued by the last government (from 2014-19) and the current government has brought it as legislation. The government is resorting
to the ordinance route without any rhyme and reason, he said.
Chowdhury said that it was the UPA government, which brought in the law, to which Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the NDA government gave legal status to Aadhaar.
"You have loaned the concept of Aadhaar from us (Aapne Aadhaar udhaar liya hain)," he said, adding that the Supreme Court had also rapped the government for violating privacy in Aadhaar.
