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Aadhaar, Modi’s magical wand

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Union minister for electronics & information technology and law & justice Ravi Shankar Prasad addresses a press conference on the ‘Achievements of UIDAI’, in New Delhi on January 27. Also seen are minister of state for electronics & information technology and law & justice PP Chaudhary, secretary, ministry of electronics & information technology, Aruna Sundararajan and the director general and mission director, UIDAI, Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]111 crore UID card-holders; NDA government basks in the warmth of sunny numbers

By Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr

Minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad seemed and sounded a happy man. He beamed and announced that the number of people in the country who now possess the Aaadhaar number stands at 111 crore out of a population of 125 crore. Remember that 125 crore Indians is the constant refrain of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s never-ending loud litany of the achievements of his less-than-three-year-old government. So 111 crore is music to the ears of this over-enthusiastic government.

Prasad rolled out the numbers at a press conference on Friday afternoon at Electronics Niketan here. Describing the government as a “Government of transformation”, and specifying the effort of the government as one of bridging the “digital divide”, he referred to Aaadhaar as the bridge that will decrease and then do away with the divide.

The minister acknowledged that the Aadhaar was the previous government’s (Congress-led UPA under prime minister Manmohan Singh), but he said that under the previous regime it was a mere digital identity marker and nothing more, that it was PM Modi who had used it effectively to make it a tool for financial and social inclusion.

He said now 99 per cent of the adults in the country have an Aadhaar card, and very soon the rest of the non-adults will come under its ambit as well. He explained in detail how Aaadhaar has been dovetailed to push for the less-cash economy, and synchronizing bank accounts with the Aadhaar number, as well as using it for targeting subsidies and for enabling transactions even without ban accounts and debit cards.

But as he revealed the numbers of Aadhaar-synced bank accounts and subsidies, it became clear that there is a quite a distance to cover. What is indisputable is that this government has pushed the Aadhaar enrolment at a great speed. On May 31, 2014 there were 63.22 crore Aadhaar card-holders. That number stood at 111 crore on January 27, 2017, which was an exact increase of 47.8 crore during the ongoing NDA tenure.

The number of Aadhaar card-holders linked to bank accounts was 6.7 crore on May 31, 2014, but it leapt to 38.51 crore by January 15, 2017. Similarly, the Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT), which was again a UPA government initiative, stood at a relatively minuscule Rs 6.3 crore on May 31, 2014, it stands at Rs 150.71 crore on January 15, 2017.

It just goes to show that the Modi government has been efficient in carrying forward the initiatives of the UPA government with near speed of light, a hyperbole no doubt but this government has this manic feeling in every good it does, but that it has not done anything new on its own. Even in the matter of banks linked to Aadhaar facility, the figure stood at 311 in May 2014 and it moved up to 869 on January 15, 2017. It is fancifully described in the press release as Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB).

There is no doubt that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Modi embraced Aadhaar without reservations. Under the UPA government, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDA) under Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders of information technology major, was set up in 2009 and it attached to the now disbanded Planning Commission. The NDA government under Modi brought in a legislation by which it turned UIDAI into a statutory authority through the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, and it was brought under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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To browbeat, bully others is vintage Congress, says PM Modi after lawyers express concern over attempts to undermine judiciary

Lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

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PM Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party after more than 600 lawyers and some bar associations across the country wrote to the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity using political and professional pressure.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote that to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. He recalled that five decades ago, the party itself had called for a committed judiciary, adding that they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation. He concluded that no wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments followed after lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

The lawyers said the tactics used by the vested interest group are damaging the courts and threatening democratic fabric. They stated that Chief Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these tough times and the Supreme Court should stand strong, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.

Without naming, the letter also targeted a section of lawyers and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Furthermore, they claimed that some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way.

In addition, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to CJI DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against underhanded attacks on the judiciary on Wednesday. In its letter, the bar association said that it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with frivolous logic and stale political agendas.

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Delhi Court extends ED custody of CM Arvind Kejriwal till April 1

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

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The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1. The Chief Minister will remain in custody till Monday, after which he will be presented in front of the court bench for further proceedings in the case.

The court has passed its order for the extension of the remand in the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, being investigated by the ED for the last two years. Arvind Kejriwal is the fourth Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to be arrested in this case. Previously, Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were arrested in the same case. 

During the hearing today, the ED argued that Arvind Kejriwal needs to be brought face to face with some of the accused in the excise policy case. The ED further said that the data in one of the mobile phones, belonging to Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, was extracted and is being analyzed.

Nonetheless, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal’s premises on March 21 are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.

In its fresh remand plea, the investigation agency said that during Arvind Kejriwal’s custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded on five days and that he was giving evasive replies. It further said the statements of three other persons have also been recorded during the remand.

CM Kejriwal made a submission in front of the court on Thursday, where he said that in the 31,000 page document prepared by the ED, there is no concrete proof or allegations against him on the basis of which he has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal said on March 28 that the AAP national convener is not keeping well and is being harassed a lot while in ED custody over the past week. She asserted that the Chief Minister is being harassed a lot and his sugar levels are fluctuating.

CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and was sent to 7-days of custody. His arrest has triggered protests in the national capital and the nearby northern state of Punjab, which is also governed by AAP, over the last few days.

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Lok Sabha elections: Priyanka Gandhi questions Centre on inflation, unemployment, farmers income under Congress media campaign

She questioned about no participation of Dalits, backward classes, tribals, minorities and poor upper castes in the posts and resources of the country.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the BJP led government at the Centre on several developmental issues under the party’s media campaign for Lok Sabha elections, Mere Vikas ka Do Hisaab.

Priyanka Gandhi asked the BJP government to give it an account of development during its tenure of 10 years. Slamming the government on youth issues, the congress leader questioned why 83 per cent of the total unemployed in the country are youth and where are the 2 crore jobs annually? She further asked about vacancy in 30 lakh government posts and exam paper being leaked.

Alleging that corporates Rs 16 lakh crore has been waived off, Priyanka Gandhi asked why are farmers committing suicide due to debt. She also asked when will the farmers’ income double and when will they get MSP? She also enquired about no proper participation of Dalits, backward classes, tribals, minorities and poor upper castes in the posts and resources of the country.

The Congress General Secretary also raised questions on the increasing number of atrocities on women. Her remarks on social media  platform, X came on a day Congress ran a media campaign with the tagline ‘Mere Vikas Ka Do Hisaab’ and ‘Haath badlega halaat’, posing questions to the Modi government.

Earlier, Congress Parliamentary Chairperson Sonia Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a systematic effort to cripple the Congress financially and deny a level playing field in the Lok Sabha election. The Income Tax Department reportedly restricted the operations of the bank accounts following a tax dispute.

Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department asserted that it has not frozen the party’s bank account, but has made a recovery of Rs 135 crore because of its violation of the law that grants political parties tax exemptions. It added that the party is free to operate these accounts beyond the money recovered by the department.

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