The right stuff

During a panel discussion organised by the Eisenhower Fellowship in the capital, Bharatiya Janata Party's Rajya Sabha member Smriti Irani asked UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani, "How can someone take my biometric information without having parliamentary sanction?" This, of course, is the standard opposition line to the Aadhaar programme. But before Nilekani could answer, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Baijayant Panda came to his rescue: "Unlike Smriti, if I were to find one thing that the government has done right, it is Nandan's project." This is praise indeed given that the BJD sits in the opposition in Parliament.