New Delhi, Sep 26 (UNI) Welcoming the Supreme Court order on Aadhaar as having upheld the vision of the previous UPA Government of 'Aadhaar as an instrument of empowerment', Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday thanked the court for supporting his party’s vision and protecting India.
In a post on social media, Rahul said, "For Congress, Aadhaar was an instrument of empowerment. For the BJP, Aadhaar is a tool of oppression and surveillance. Thank you Supreme Court for supporting the Congress vision and protecting (India)".
The Supreme court . while upholding the Constitutionality of Aadhaar, however, struck down section 57 which allowed private companies to demand Aadhar card from citizens.
The Congress party also welcomed the Supreme court order upholding the Constitutional validity of Aadhaar while ruling that it was not mandatory for bank accounts and school admissions.
The principal opposition party said that the order of the Apex court was a victory of the Congress in that it has upheld the vision of the previous UPA government of Aadhaar as an empowering tool for marginalised sections while putting an end to abuse of power being exercised by the Central Government.
Addressing a joint press conference with AICC spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi and AICC media incharge Randeep Surjewala, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, "The Congress Party welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court on the validity of the Aadhaar Act. It is a big victory for us. The Modi Government’s Surveillance Tool Section 57 has been quashed putting an end to abuse of power being exercised by the Central Government. Section 57 which allowed private companies to demand Aadhaar has been struck down as unconstitutional. This is important because the BJP Government was pushing its agenda of mass convergence through the intimidation of private companies which had begun insisting on Aadhaar details".
In doing so, Mr Sibal said the apex Court has firmly put an end to the mass surveillance exercise being carried out under the guise of Aadhaar by the Central Government and "the grotesque distortion of an idea conceived by the UPA.’’
‘’Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for mobile phones and bank linking. The Congress led UPA’s vision of Aadhaar was always voluntary and never mandatory. This is an endorsement of the UPA’s vision for Aadhaar and a rejection of the NDA’s clumsy attempt to gather data of its citizens without any rationale,’’ Mr Sibal said.
Noting that the Supreme court also said that someone can always challenges an act which has been classified as a Money Bill by the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Mr Sibal said the Congress would approach the Supreme court to ensure the data protection of the individuals that had been taken from them by the private companies.
"While four learned judges of the Supreme Court have upheld the classification of the Act as a ‘Money Bill’, Justice DY Chandrachud has dissented calling it a “debasement of the democratic structure” which renders the Act an “illegality”. Justice DY Chandrachud has also held that passage of bills in such a manner by the Government is a way of undermining the role of Parliament and Parliamentarians".

"This is a scathing indictment of this Government’s clandestine and dishonest approach to its Parliamentary responsibilities. In doing so, and when read with the decision of the entire bench, this opens the door for several challenges to the Speaker's arbitrary decisions and has effectively changed that law as it existed on the subject," Mr Sibal said.
The BJP Government was aware that their law on Aadhaar could not pass parliamentary muster, he said adding - "That it why they classified it as a Money Bill to avoid voting in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP did not have a majority".
He said: "The BJP knew the Congress would never approve a draconian and invasive version of its project to be abused in such a manner. While we respect the Court’s decision on this point, we are inclined to agree with Justice Chandrachud on the fact that the Act, per se, is an illegality".
UNI AR DEVN