Shillong, August 01: The Meghalaya Peoples’ Committee on Aadhaar (MPCA) wishes to express its deep appreciation to Mr. Baijayant “Jay” Panda, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament for having recently tabled the Data (Privacy and Protection) Bill, 2017 in the Lok Sabha which main content is that the right to privacy is a fundamental right for Indian citizens, whereby the Bill states that “the final right to modify or remove personal data from any database, whether public or private, rests solely with the individual” and that “the consent of an individual for collection and processing of personal data” must be mandatory. (Kazim Rizvi and Ranjeet Rane, High time India had a right to privacy law in Livemint, 31-07/2017)
The Bill has been tabled at the most opportune time as the Nine Judges’ Constitutional Bench of the Honourable Supreme Court has held hearings on the constitutionality of the right to privacy, i.e. as to whether it is a fundamental right or not and which Ruling is expected to be delivered by September, 2017. The outcomes of the Data (Privacy and Protection) Bill, 2017 and that of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench will have much bearing on the issue of Aadhaar enrolment.
It may be reminded that way back in 2009, Mr. Panda had presented a Bill entitled ‘The Prevention of Unsolicited Telephonic Calls and Protection of Privacy Bill’. Similarly did other MPs viz. Rajeev Chandrasekhar in 2010, Vivek Gupta in 2016 and Om Prakash Yadav in 2016, all Bills having to do with the issue of citizen data privacy. Though it is a Private Member’s Bill and not a Government Bill, it is hoped that this time, it will pass through as the approach is rights based and deserves to transcend party affiliations and sectarian/partisan interests.
It is also very encouraging to have learned that the European Union is in the process of enforcing its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by May, 2018 and this too will have far reaching implications in the Indian context as there is strong allegation of abuse of such data collection by countries where it is stored and it would very much in India’s “national interests to address this aspect as well.”
The Meghalaya Peoples’ Committee on Aadhaar urge upon all honourable members of the Lok Sabha to take this matter seriously and have constructive debate on the Bill with positive inputs and in a bi-partisan manner, agree to pass the Bill, with additional inputs as amendments, if necessary, so that it can become a law, thereby upholding democracy and human rights;
The The Meghalaya Peoples’ Committee on Aadhaar all concerned, particularly those holding positions of authority at various levels, including at the grass root, not to push for Aadhaar enrolment or collecting of biometric data until this pertinent issue is settled both by parliament and the judiciary said Dr PBM Basaiawmoit in the press statement today.
