MxMIndia

Ranjona Banerji: The government shoots the messenger on Aadhar

“At the end of the day, the problem remains grave. The authorities are looking to intimidate anyone who does not bow down to its vision of itself, to the extent of taking criminal action against people. The Mumbai Press Club asks the government not to take on the “Fourth Estate” but in fact that is exactly what the government has been doing, consistently. The situation is also dire because of the large number of media houses which prefer to lick the boots of the government and try and blame everything that goes wrong on history, the bureaucracy and any political parties which are not currently in power. The credibility of the media is at one of its lowest points as a result,” writes Ranjona Banerji

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By Ranjona Banerji

 

The Tribune, Chandigarh does a fine piece of investigative journalism and finds that for R500, one can buy Aadhaar details of over a billion people. Agents who run this “business” give you a login and a password as well. An additional R300 and you received software that allowed you to print Aadhaar cards as well.

This article lays bare the lies told by several government functionaries, not least the UIDAI itself that the details of all those who have signed up for the Aadhaar scheme are safe. Before this article, we have seen several other stories about people finding that their money has vanished after they linked their Aadhaar number to their bank accounts and other horror stories. More that 50,000 Aadhaar centres have been shut down across India for their fraudulent dealings.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/rs-500-10-minutes-and-you-have-access-to-billion-aadhaar-details/523361.html

The UIDAI has responded in typical manner: an FIR has been filed against the Tribune and the reporter Rachna Khaira. Because the fact that supposedly secure details are easily available is less important than the fact that this major transgression has been made public. The UIDA in fact has twisted itself in knots by first declaring that nothing is wrong and then claiming that action will be taken against those who have done something wrong. In any logical world, both positions cannot be right.

The confusion over the Unique Identification project has carried on from one government to another and its anomalies are so extreme that there is a huge public protest against it. Safety and security are only one aspect. To add to that we have had people dying on being denied government benefits because their biometric details did not match. In addition, people have been forced to enrol, regardless of the legality. The Supreme Court will be hearing arguments against Aadhaar in particular this month, but coercion and force are still being used to get people to enrol or else…

Now, the press is being intimidated as well, for pointing out flaws in the system. After the outcry, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad hedged and hawed and claimed that the FIR was against “unknown” persons when it was specifically against the Tribune and Khaira. The following report from the redoubtable altnews makes it clear that there is dissonance between the minister and the department.

Ravi Shankar Prasad downplays FIR against The Tribune, but what is the truth?

The Tribune has also responded: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/tribune-response-to-uidai-email-on-aadhaar-expose/525479.html

At the end of the day, the problem remains grave. The authorities are looking to intimidate anyone who does not bow down to its vision of itself, to the extent of taking criminal action against people. The Mumbai Press Club asks the government not to take on the “Fourth Estate” but in fact that is exactly what the government has been doing, consistently. The situation is also dire because of the large number of media houses which prefer to lick the boots of the government and try and blame everything that goes wrong on history, the bureaucracy and any political parties which are not currently in power. The credibility of the media is at one of its lowest points as a result.

 

The intent of the government in power at the Centre and the party that controls it is also clear: to stop any negative publicity. Here in Dehradun, the Uttarakhand government barred the entry of media persons into the secretariat, in order to keep “Cabinet matters confidential”. After a huge outcry, the government backtracked in a couple of days. Its attempts to gag the media may be hamhanded but they show clear intent.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/media-ban-row-ukhand-govt-backtracks-cm-says-no-restriction-on-entry-of-journos-in-secretariat/articleshow/62396117.cms

And, let us not forget, that the Prime Minister of India has not addressed a press conference since coming to power in May 2014. His Diwali interactions with the press have been selfie sessions with media sycophants who have neither shame nor pride in their profession. He has been asked a couple of tough questions on trips abroad and been saved from answering by his hosts.

Swati Chaturvedi asks some tough questions here:

https://thewire.in/210691/narendra-modi-press-conference/

If the bulk of the media does not wake up to the threat before it, expect worse to come.

 

Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Consulting Editor, MxMIndia. The views here are her own

 

 

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