Congress welcomes Aadhar verdict, calls it a ‘slap on the face of BJP’
The Congress on Wednesday welcomed the Aadhar verdict of the Supreme Court saying the United Progressive alliance government’s vision has been endorsed.
“The majority judgment in the Aadhaar case has retrieved the UPA’s original idea of Aadhaar. Aadhaar was meant to be a benign instrument to deliver benefits, subsidies and services to the poor. Glad that the UPA’s policy has been vindicated. The NDA tried to convert Aadhaar into a monster that will rule every aspect of a person’s life. And the NDA had been firmly rebuffed,” Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.
“We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act. Private entities are no longer allowed to use Aadhaar for verification purposes,” the Congress said.
We welcome the Supreme Court decision to put an end to Modi Govt.’s illegal distribution of private data. PM Modi must answer for this breach of privacy & tell the people how he will protect the data his govt. has already taken from us. #ModiGiveBackMyData pic.twitter.com/0tZB4FK9y4
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 26, 2018
Congress national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi while commenting on the judgement said, “The delinking of Aadhaar from private entities is a ‘slap on the face of BJP.”
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal added, “The Modi government’s surveillance tool, Section 57, is quashed, putting an end to abuse of power being exercised by the central government.”
“In doing so, the SC has firmly put an end to the mass surveillance exercise being carried out under the guise of Aadhaar by the central government and the grotesque distortion of an idea conceived by the UPA.”
The private companies will not be able to insist on Aadhar details after the verdict. He also mentioned that if necessary the Congress will move the court for clarity on destruction of data collected by private entities.
Referring to the Aadhar Act being passed as a money bill, the Congress said that it would move a larger bench of the SC if the Centre tries to bypass the Rajya Sabha again. Congress, in a statement, said that for the first time, a Constitution Bench had held that “decisions of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha can be subject to judicial review”.
In a majority verdict, the five-judge constitution bench of SC declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme constitutionally valid but struck down some of its provisions.