Achuthanandan Against Unique Identification Number (UID) Scheme

Note: One of the senior most and honest politicians of South Asia, 87 years old, V S Achuthanandan, the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala State Assembly and the supporter of free and open source software movement initiated by Richard Stallman, a US based computer programmer, has objected to Unique Identification Number (UID) scheme of the Prime Minister which has been abandoned in United Kingdom, Philippines and other countries.

The Centralised Identities Data Register (CIDR) of UID Numbers is linked to the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) under Union Home Ministry. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley has rejected NATGRID citing certainty of wikileaks.

Gopal Krishna
Member, Citizens Forum for Liberties (CFCL)
New Delhi

V S Achuthanandan voices misgivings about UID project

27 JUL, 2011, PTI
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan today expressed misgivings about theUID scheme launched by the Centre "without proper debate" in Parliament and alleged that the true intention behind the programme was to help IT firms hit by the global downturn.

The Centre was moving ahead with the Unique Identification Number (UID) campaign without bothering about its implications or taking into account the experiences of countries which had abandoned it mid-way after realising the dangers involved, Achuthanandnan, who is Kerala Opposition Leader, said.

The UID programme envisaged collection of bio-metric details of each citizen,without factoring in the security implications or invasion of privacy. Countries like the United Kingdom and Philippines had abandoned the project mid-way after realising the latent dangers,he said.

In India, the project had been announced without a proper debate in Parliament or bringing in a draft bill, the former Chief Minister said in a statement here.

The true intention behind the scheme was to help IT companies hit by the global downturn, he alleged.

Achuthanandan took strong objection to UDF government's decision to fast-track the UID campaign in the state, as announced by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy soon after coming to power.

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