We cordially invite you to a press conference TODAY, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, at Indian Women’s Press Corps (Windsor Place, Delhi) where we will demand that @ECISVEEP seek the dismissal of a petition filed in Delhi HC which proposes linking #Aadhaar with voter ID.
We will release a statement endorsed by over 200 concerned citizens requesting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to oppose the linking of Aadhaar to Voter IDs. Speakers include #UshaRamanathan, @JagdeepChhokar and @prasanna_s.
Here's our press release. You can also read it online at the link below:
As states suffer rising COVID-19 cases, the public distribution system is a lifeline for many who will be rendered food insecure. Aadhaar linkage increases the risk of transmission, and is a massive source of exclusion. This needs to go! A short thread:
1. Exclusion: In Kenjala village, Kombaru GP, Kadaba taluk: In the middle of a lockdown, people who made it to the PDS shop could not get rice - no mobile network. "staff had to move to the nearest hillock, searching for a proper.. network". daijiworld.com/news/newsDispl…
This is the tip of the iceberg. Reminder that a 2019 Lokniti-CSDS survey found between 28% to 40% persons (in the Hindi belt) had been denied foodgrains because of Aadhaar-related failures. indianexpress.com/article/explai…
Link to sign a statement demanding that government ensures equitable access to vaccines and medical resources to survive the pandemic blocksurvey.io/survey/1PfQfn6… statement is attached
Demands
-Increase access to vaccinations
-Ensure no barriers, including mandating Aadhaar, for access to diagnostics, hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, medication or other treatments
-Protect peoples’ rights over their data
-Permit vaccination for all without ID/residence proof
This is a difficult time for all of us. As we write we have relatives & friends searching for hospitals, medicines & oxygen, isolating at home, and more being infected with the COVID-19 virus daily. Many of us are caring for those who are ill or need other support.
Today, two years ago, on September 26, 2018, the Supreme Court of India passed the landmark judgement that decided the fate of the #Aadhaar project in India.
Link: indiankanoon.org/doc/116396036/
The Court’s failure to find the #Aadhaar project unconstitutional was widely criticised for not addressing the problems of social exclusion and destruction fundamental rights.
Link: epw.in/engage/article…
1/n Rethink Aadhaar & Article 21 Trust anchored a session on Surveillance & Technology at the Janta Parliament on 18 August 2020. More than 100 people attended & voted. Thread - Highlights from the session illustrated by @kruttikasusarlarethinkaadhaar.in/blog/2020/8/24…
2/n @PaliSamuel presided over the session and highlighted “mass ostracization and harassment” faced by those who had their personal information on health status, travel history released in the public domain. Key guiding question: where is “trust” between people & the Govt.
3/n Keynote address by Usha Ramanathan - similarities between the exploitation of natural resources & collection of data. Must be more transparency on the relationship between state & corporate entities on data extractive practices with minimum regulatory oversight
#JantaParliament thread with live tweets. @PaliSamuel introduces the 6th session on technology and surveillance - there is a need to ask who are excluded from their constitutional rights by technological solutions/interventions?
The people of Jammu&Kashmir have been denied internet access, migrant labourers asked to book trains online, rights bearing citizens reduced to data subjects #JantaParliament
Constitutional rights that form the architecture of governance must be present at the stage of design of technology (before even implemented or conceptualised) #JantaParliament
Join us tmrw at #JantaParliament for a session on Technology, Exclusion & Surveillance from 3pm to 6pm. Hear 20 speakers critically appraise govt policy on technology, exclusion & surveillance. Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Visvam will attend, Usha Ramanathan will give the keynote address