Congress on Wednesday said the Supreme Court verdict striking down several provisions of the Aadhaar biometric system is a “slap” on the face of the NDA Government. In appreciating the verdict, Congress president Rahul Gandhi thanked the Supreme Court, saying while Aadhar was an instrument of empowerment for his party, but a “tool of oppression and surveillance” for the BJP. “For Congress, Aadhaar was an instrument of empowerment. For the BJP, Aadhaar is a tool of oppression and surveillance. Thank you Supreme Court for supporting the Congress vision and protecting India,” Rahul said on Twitter.
Congress leader Kapil Sibal also expressed satisfaction over exclusion of private companies from Aadhaar project and said the idea to involve private companies was not just “undemocratic” but was against the spirit of democracy. Congress national spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the delinking of Aadhaar from private entities is a ‘slap on the face of BJP”. His colleague Randeep Singh Surjewala said the Supreme Court verdict “upholds the individual’s right to privacy”.
“Slap on the face of BJP. Justice Sikri judgement strikes down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act, 2016, which says private body corporates can seek Aadhaar data. Says it’s unconstitutional. All plans to monetise biometric data now fail,” he tweeted. He also hailed the Supreme Court’s move to disallow metadata to be stored in its current form. “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 on Twitter minutes after the verdict.
“If the information of a person’s personal information is sought to be released, he or she shall have an opportunity to be heard. SC rightly appreciated brilliant idea in origin; protected its core; promoted its development and eliminated its flotsam & jetsam. SC brilliantly threw out #bjp #modi accumulated dirty bathwater and saved the baby. Org intent of UPA ie to give identity 2 marginalised ppl now shines (sic),” Singhvi said.