UID, NPR and Cash Transfer for vote control driven by foreign funds for political parties

Press Release

UID, NPR and Cash Transfer for vote control appear driven by foreign funds for political parties

States, media, citizens being taken for ride by Cabinet Committee on UID related matters (CCUIDRM)

Disclose ‘approved strategy’ and 'Strategic Vision on the UIDAI Project' document

New Delhi: Citizens, media and States being taken for ride by the Prime Minister headed Cabinet Committee on UID related matters (CCUIDRM) which also deal with National Population Register (NPR). The notification of Planning Commission January 28, 2009 creating UIDAI reveals it. 

The notification refers to an 'approved strategy' which has not been disclosed to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and the Parliament. It appears that the fake rift that was created for media consumption, for citizens and dissenting States like Gujarat remains a part of the strategy. The notification is attached. The terms of reference is revealing.   

Documents of key industry bodies available in public domain indicate that this strategy comprises of converging National Intelligence Grid that has been set up as an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs in April, 2010 to link databases for constructing actionable intelligence accessing about two dozen categories of data sources including UID, NPR, Census and electoral database besides property database.

If citizens, Parliament, Courts and State legislatures scrutinize the 'Strategic Vision on the UIDAI Project' that was prepared and submitted to the processes committee of the Planning Commission (set up in July 2006) by Wipro Ltd (consultant for the design phase and programme management phase of the pilot UIDAI project), they may get sufficient reason to dismantle the project. This vision document is missing. It was not shared with the Parliamentary Committee on Finance which rejected the UID project and Bill. The last clause of the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill, 2010 for UID revealed how UID related initiatives and plans are meant to make democratic institutions redundant or rubber stamps.   

As per the website of Cabinet Secretariat, the function of CCUIDAI (as on 20.07.2011) includes, “All issues relating to the Unique Identification Authority of India including its organization, plans, policies, programmes, schemes, funding and methodology to be adopted for achieving the objectives of that Authority.” Source: http://cabsec.nic.in/showpdf.php?type=council_cabinet_committees

As per super efficient Cabinet Secretariat,  CCUIDRM which may have become more efficient after personal UID enrolment by the current Cabinet Secretary but how does one explain that it is informing the world at large that CCUIDRM members include Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of Finance, Shri P. Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs, Shri S.M. Krishna, Minister of External Affairs, Shri Kapil Sibal as Minister of Human Resource Development besides Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Kumari Selja, Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Minister of Culture and Shri Salman Khursheed, Minister of Law and Justice and Minister of Minority Affairs. Is it because the  CCUIDRM has outsourced all its work to its Special Invitees, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission and Shri Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, UIDAI, Planning Commission? Are they constitutionally accountable to the Parliament?

E-governance models have a shining example in how updated Cabinet Secretariat and  CCUIDRM have become after 4 years of UIDAI.  

It appears that CCUIDRM member, P Chidamabaram and his colleagues in this Committee have managed to outsmart all the political parties including likes of Narendra Modi and Yashwant Sinha and left government in Tripura both in his role as Home Minister and now in his role a Finance Minister.      

Another 15-page document of Wipro, titled 'Does India need a Unique Identity Number?', cited the example of UK's Identity Cards Act, 2006 on page no. 6 to advance the argument on UID number in India.  Now that UK's new government has abandoned its National Identity Cards Scheme and has announced it in the British Parliament. 

Is it the case that when UK implements national identity cards scheme, it should be cited as an example, but when it abandons the programme, it becomes irrelevant and illogical? 

Why are Wipro, UIDAI, the Planning Commission and the prime minister silent about their UK example? 

Is it not conflict of interest that after submitting the 'Strategic Vision on the UIDAI Project' (which is missing), Wipro has been getting contracts from UIDAI for 'Deployment of 7 project managers, supply, installation, commissioning for hardware - software for data centre at Bengaluru & NCR, deployment of 32 resource personnel and monitoring tools and hiring of data centre space (2,000 sq ft) & facilities for UIDAI at Delhi/NCR.' From December 2010 till May 2011, it has got four contracts amidst reports of irregularities.

It is noteworthy that besides Supreme Court, writ petitions are pending in Mumbai, Chennai and an appeal is pending in Karnataka too questioning the legality and constitutionality of UID related projects. 

Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL) demands that  CCUIDRM must disclose its ‘approved strategy’ & 'Strategic Vision on the UIDAI Project' document.

Some 38 contracts have been awarded to various companies including US and French biometric technology companies but these contract documents are not in public domain. There is documented circumstantial evidence that appears to show contracts succeed or precede UIDAI officials being awarded in places like Milan, Italy in the way Pakistan's concerned officials have been awarded by World Identification Summit/Congress sponsored by US entities like AB Notes Corporations, the agency that prints currency and French entities like Safran Group housed in Hindustan Times Building, New Delhi. The latter has got several contracts from UIDAI. Interestingly, publications from this building have openly declared themselves to be supporters of UID-Aadhhar.  

 

UID-Aadhaar based cash transfer is meant for purchasing votes as has been underlined in a recent World Bank document. The matter of cash for votes in the Parliament has come to light in the past. It is a case of reaching out to citizens directly for cash handouts in return for their support of policies of Indian National Congress led coalition government. It is part of the trend started in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs bribery scam of July 1993 wherein four Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) members of Parliament along with seven members of a breakaway faction of the Janata Dal (A) were paid at least Rs. 8.7 crores to ensure the survival of the Indian National Congress led minority government led by P.V. Narasimha Rao. Dr Manmohan Singh was the Finance Minister in the government then. Earlier legislators were catchments area. This time around it is the citizens who are being ensnared. 

In this regard it sad that connivance of some newspapers and channels with the illegal and unethical implementation has come to light. This is an unpardonable and cardinal journalistic sin which will be remembered by future generations as one of the shameful chapters in the history of journalism. Their documents editorial stances will stand as a glaring testimony against them and against those who evidently are making compromises with interested parties and making truthful reporting a casualty the way Paid News does. It may be noted that the documents referred above are available on request.  
 

For Details: Gopal Krishna, Member, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL), Mb:9818089660, E-mail:krishna1715@gmail.com