Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.
Hailing the Supreme Court verdict declaring the right to privacy a fundamental right, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said the judgment strikes at “unbridled encroachment and surveillance” by the State and its agencies on the life of the common man. She added that Congress and other opposition parties have together spoken for the right to privacy against “arrogant” attempts of BJP govt to curtail them.
Echoing similar view, Gandhi’s son and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said that the apex court verdict was a major blow to “fascist forces” and a rejection of the BJP’s ideology of “suppression through surveillance”. The judgment was a “victory for every Indian”, Gandhi said on Twitter.
“Welcome the SC verdict upholding Right to Privacy as an intrinsic part of individual’s liberty, freedom, and dignity. The SC decision marks a major blow to fascist forces,” he tweeted. It was a “sound rejection” of the BJP’s ideology of “suppression through surveillance”, Gandhi said.
SC decision marks a major blow to fascist forces.A sound rejection of the BJP’s ideology of suppression through surveillance#RightToPrivacy
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) August 24, 2017
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that the right to privacy was a fundamental right under the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar ruled that the right was “an intrinsic part of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 and the entire Part III of the Constitution”.
The ruling on the highly contentious issue dealt with petitions challenging the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for people seeking to benefit from various social welfare schemes.
