KOLKATA: The Supreme Court order on Aadhaar has certainly relieved a section of Kolkatans, who were hassled by bank officials, cellular operators, school authorities and LPG distributors for know-your-customer (KYC) processing.
Senior software specialist at MOL-IT India Santanu
Mitra feels people like him with a little knowledge on biometric data have always remained sceptical about providing Aadhaar details to the corporate. “Why should I disclose my crucial information to every place when a proper security system is not in place to protect it? At a much later stage, biometric lock was introduced but I was really unsure how much effective that was,” he said. “It’s a great reprieve that Aadhaar will no longer be required everywhere.”
Arnab Sarkar, now an NRI, has always been vocal against the government going overboard on Aadhaar implementation. The erstwhile resident of Salt Lake told TOI from Paris, “Although I don’t have any problem now as I converted all my bank accounts in India to NRO (non-resident ordinary) accounts, but I am against Aadhaar because it deals with one’s biometric details, which should be guarded as a fundamental right to privacy.”
Some were outraged when they were asked to connect Aadhaar with their phone numbers despite having voter ID linked to it. “I had to take a break from my office and join a long queue outside a mobile service provider’s office, which was really unnecessary. What is the meaning of keeping voter ID card as KYC proof?” said Subhankar Mukherjee, officer (operations), Radiohms Agencies.
Krishnendu Bhattacharya, co-owner of an educational centre on James Long Sarani, heaved a sigh of relief when he found that the apex court had termed linking of Aadhaar to telecom services “unconstitutional”. “A number of times, I have had huge arguments with a couple of cellular service operators for not willing to provide my Aadhaar number to them. Numerous letters, tele-calls and messages from them could not make me change my decision. I was waiting for this verdict. I feel vindicated today,” he said.
However, the happiest lot, following the SC order, seem to be senior citizens, who have been toiling hard to furnish Aadhaar details as KYC for their savings, fixed deposits and pension accounts in banks every year. All the banks had made it mandatory for senior citizens to link Aadhaar numbers with the ‘life certificate’ every year. “I cannot forget the pain I had to go through to link Aadhaar with all my bank accounts at the Jadavpur University campus. The serpentine queue and the administrative disorder on the JU campus made the experience dreadful,” said Sanat Kumar Dutta, a retired employee of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
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