[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The BJP MP plans to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi detailing how making Aadhaar mandatory will endanger national security
If there’s one thing the BJP MP Subramanian Swamy knows, perhaps even better than any of his contemporaries, then it is the trick to stay within the media spotlight.
Days after he was sternly reprimanded by the Delhi High Court, which dismissed his petition in the Sunanda Pushkar death case, the BJP veteran has now trained his guns at an issue that has put the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre in a tight spot, both politically and before the Supreme Court – the mandatory registration of all Indian citizens in the Aadhaar databank.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]In what is certain to rankle his party’s leadership, the garrulous BJP leader has termed mandatory registration for Aadhaar as a “threat to our national security” and claimed that he will soon write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with details that substantiate his claim.
Swamy’s attack on Aadhaar comes at a time when the Modi government has been going all out to ensure not only that citizens compulsorily get registered for the unique identification number but also that they link it their bank accounts, PAN numbers, mobile phones, birth certificates, ration cards, et al.
The government’s insistence on Aadhaar registration for citizens and for linking the unique identification number with a slew of identity documents and facilities like mobile phones and bank accounts has led to a bunch of petitions being filed in the Supreme Court challenging these moves.
Swamy’s outburst against Aadhaar came a days after the Centre informed the Supreme Court of its decision to extend the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar till March 31, 2018. “The government will be open for the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various programmes being extended for another three months till March 31, 2018, for those who do not have Aadhaar,” the Centre’s note to the apex court read.
Days earlier, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee too had protested against the order for compulsory linking of Aadhaar with mobile phone numbers, daring the telecom companies to disconnect her mobile phone and stating that she wouldn’t link her Aadhaar with her number as the Centre’s order tantamount to “an invasion of my privacy”. While the West Bengal government had then filed a writ petition before the apex court on the issue red flagged by Banerjee, the top court had pointed out that the petition had been filed under wrong provisions, prompting the petitioner’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal to withdraw the plea. Later, a revised plea was filed by Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra in her individual capacity, fulfilling the legal obligation of the said writ petition being filed by a citizen and not on behalf of a state government.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]