The decks are cleared, and the path is determined. Govt. is refusing to retreat on their firm resolve to make Aadhaar the de-facto identity of every Indian.
In a latest affidavit filed by the Centre, it has been said that every mobile needs to be linked with Aadhaar by February 26th, and every bank with Aadhaar by March 31st.
And, when it comes to hacking of Aadhaar data, then Govt. has plainly stated that no such incident has ever happened.
So, the Aadhaar push is real, and mandatory. There is no way out now.
Mobile No.-Aadhaar Linkage By February 26th: Govt.
In the ongoing case in Supreme Court regarding Aadhaar and its mandatory linkage with services, Govt. of India has filed an affidavit, which states that they cannot go back now.
February 26th is the deadline for every mobile phone user to link their Aadhaar.
The 113- page affidavit was filed by advocate Zoheb Hossain, on behalf of Govt. of India.
On October 31st, in the same case, Supreme Court had questioned Centre’s relentless push towards Aadhaar linkage, and had asked them why it was needed in the first place.
In an indirect reference to this question, Govt. has informed Supreme Court that they are acting on the instruction of the Apex Court itself, and going back on this may not be possible now. Centre is referring to the Lokniti Foundation case, during which arguments were put forth regarding illegal usage of mobile phones, and how Aadhaar can check these activities.
The hearing took place in February this year, and Centre has sought 1-year deadline for implementing the mandatory Aadhaar-Mobile linking, which Supreme Court had approved.
Hence, as per the Centre, going back on this action would be going against the Supreme Court itself.
Bank-Aadhaar Linkage By March 31
Meanwhile, in the affidavit, Govt. has informed Supreme Court that the deadline for linking bank accounts with Aadhaar has been extended till March 31st. Earlier, the deadline was December 31st.
Centre said,
“Until March 31, existing bank accounts will not be made non-operational for not linking with Aadhaar. But as far as opening new bank accounts are concerned, Aadhaar or enrolment ID must be given as proof of identity. For existing account holders, the deadline for Aadhaar based verification is being extended to March 31 and no coercive action will be taken till then.”
Reacting to reports that some Indian citizens have died of starvation, as they didn’t get the approved ration in the absence of Aadhaar, Govt. said no starvation death has been reported as of now.
Besides, Govt. has also denied any incident of Aadhaar data breach or compromising security of the UIDAI server, ever.
Govt. said,
“There has not been a single instance of hacking or data breach in or from UIDAI or any of its servers.”
Besides, the affidavit says that hacking incidents do happen, with or without Aadhaar.
We have already reported that 75% of active SIM cards in India can be deactivated, if Aadhaar is not linked.
Every telco in India is right now ‘ordering’ and ‘requesting’ their users to connect their Aadhaar with their mobile, as soon as possible.
Have you linked your Aadhaar with mobile? Do let us know by commenting right here.
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