Open letter to Nandan Nilekani on the reply to my RTI application

Dear Mr. Nilekani, I was hoping that I will not be forced to write this. But the UIDAI under your leadership had other plans. To cut the story short, I filed a Right to Information (RTI) application in January asking certain information from UIDAI. To be specific, I sought the following information. 1. How many Members of Parliament (MP) have enrolled for Aadhar till date? Provide the list of all enrolled MPs. 2. How many members of the Union Cabinet have enrolled for Aadhar till date? Provide the list of those enrolled. 3. Did Mr.Nandan Nilekani, Chairman UIDAI enroll for Aadhar? 4. Did the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh enroll for Aadhar? 5. Did Mrs. Sonia Gandhi (Chairman of UPA) enroll for Aadhar? 6. Did Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Dy. Chairman of Planning Commission enroll for Aadhar? 7. Did the staff of UIDAI enroll for Aadhar? Details of the number of people enrolled and number of people not enrolled. I had clearly explained the purpose behind seeking this information though I need not tell you the reasons under Sec 6(2) of the RTI act. I explained the larger public interest behind seeking this information so that your dream of Aadhaar for every Indian could be realized. These details if provided could have inspired millions if not billions of Indians who were critical of the UIDAI after they saw Hens & Goats being enrolled with unique IDs. I never knew you also had plans of mapping every animal in the country. Anyway, lets come back to the story. I did tell you that even critics will turn admirers had you disclosed this information. Your technological prowess would have been proved beyond doubt. But you missed that golden opportunity. Anyway, let me tell you why I dont agree with your reply to my RTI application and why I think you have outright double standards. For the first two questions, your reply said

As a body using thousands of crores of public money, you are supposed to follow the constitution. More specifically article 15 of the constitution which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. There is nothing unusual about it. What is unusual though is that you have decided to deny information citing this. Did I ask you to profile people or tell me how many people caste wise/creed wise/religion wise enrolled for Aadhaar? I was seeking information on how many of our esteemed MPs enrolled for Aadhaar. This I told you would inspire millions of people who are otherwise skeptical about your dream project. And do you know why I sought this information? One of your Cabinet colleagues (colleague since you enjoy the status of a Union Cabinet Minister) said that people like him do not need Aadhaar and it is only for beneficiaries of the state. Did I hear that properly?? Beneficiaries of the state? Are the cabinet ministers, MPs doing free service to the country? Dont you know India is probably one of those very few countries where the MPs and Cabinet Ministers decide their salary? Notwithstanding the salary, innumerable perks, the

The details cited in this letter are from the reply to a RTI application filed by Rakesh Dubbudu with the UIDAI.

minister has the audacity to say that he is not a beneficiary of the state. In fact, I can confidently say that majority in this country believe that MPs/Ministers dont deserve that kind of salary and m ost of them do not do justice to their job. So does it also not amount to misuse of public money? Dont they need Aadhaar? Dont you think there should be biometric systems outside the parliament where MPs can record their attendance? Dont you think their salary should be linked to number of days of attendance like you want to do it for MREGS beneficiaries? And it was Mr. Jairam Ramesh who made that statement.

Source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/jairam-ramesh-launches-cash-transfer-scheme-says-it-s-nomagic-wand-313901

So where is the question of profiling here? Does your technology not even allow you to check whether or not our law makers enrolled for Aadhaar? Who are you trying to fool Mr. Nilekani?

For the next five questions, your reply said

Frankly speaking, I do not know whether to laugh or cry with this response. Can there be a greater hypocrite than UIDAI? I will explain what I meant in the following paragraphs. Can there be a bigger joke than saying that the information sought is personal? Did I ask their address, their 12 digit UID? I just wanted to know if they enrolled for Aadhaar much like many citizens want to know. How is it personal especially at a time when one of your cabinet colleagues says he does not need an Aadhaar? So is Aadhaar only for the poor? The rich and powerful who are equal beneficiaries of the state do not need an Aadhaar? So you never used public money in your work as Chairman as UIDAI so far? Are you not a beneficiary of the state like any other poor citizen of this country who is a beneficiary of a welfare scheme? Did you conveniently forget that exemptions under the RTI act do not apply when there is a larger public interest? Dont you think this information has a much larger public interest? This idea is your brainchild. Hence people like me want to know whether you believe in your own idea, whether the PM, Sonia Gandhi and Montek Singh believe in your idea for which thousands of crores of public money has already been spent. Let me agree for a minute that this information is personal for the sake of argument. Then how did you, the PM and Sonia Gandhi violate the Right to Privacy of that poor women Vali of Rajasthan? How did you put her picture on the UIDAI website proudly saying Vali enrolled for Aadhaar? So much so that the picture even clearly shows her address and her 12 digit UID number? Is Vali a lesser citizen than you that your right to privacy is more important than her Right to Privacy? Why this scant

The details cited in this letter are from the reply to a RTI application filed by Rakesh Dubbudu with the UIDAI.

regard for the right to privacy of poor citizens like Vali? Is it not a classic case of hypocrisy and double standards?

Source: http://uidai.gov.in/image-gallery.html

You proved once again that the law works differently for different people in this country. One for people like Vali and another for people of your ilk, who are rich and powerful. The critics of UID have one more reason to doubt all your claims. The way the enrollment is happening across the country is probably a testimony to the power of your idea. I believed you will provide me the information to win the confidence of the critics. I am proved wrong and in the process you lost my respect forever.

Sincere Regards Rakesh Dubbudu A common citizen of India.

The details cited in this letter are from the reply to a RTI application filed by Rakesh Dubbudu with the UIDAI.