Both the BJP and the Congress Wednesday sought to claim victory over the Supreme Court's verdict on Aadhaar biometric system with the ruling party's chief Amit Shah mocking Rahul Gandhi's contention that it supported his party's vision, saying the "Congress won today, just like they won Lok Sabha polls in 2014".
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra upheld the constitutional validity of 'Aadhar' but restricted government's push to make it mandatory for various services including for bank accounts, mobile connections or school admissions.
Immediately after the pronouncement of the verdict, both the parties used it to claim that it was a vindication of their respective positions on the contentious issue which triggered nationwide debate on privacy concerns. While the BJP called the judgement a big victory for the "pro-poor" Modi government, the Congress asserted that the court striking down several provisions of the biometric system is a "slap" on the NDA government.
Citing comments of Justice D Y Chandrachud, who wrote the judgement separately that passage of the Aadhaar law as money bill, bypassing the Rajya Sabha, amounted to a "fraud on the Constitution", Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, "We will approach a seven-judge bench to consider this verdict again as this is clearly not a money bill."
Thanking the apex court for the verdict, Gandhi said it was an instrument of empowerment for his party, but a "tool of oppression and surveillance" for the BJP.
In his reaction, Shah mocked Gandhi, saying, "Yes, the Congress won today, just like they won Lok Sabha Polls in 2014".
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Shah accused the Congress of trying every trick to fight and defeat Aadhaar as it is the "fountainhead of middlemen and corruption".
The Congress said by scrapping the "draconian" Section 57 and the national security exception in the Aadhaar Act, the Supreme Court firmly put an end to a "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 previous UPA dispensation.
Expressing satisfaction over exclusion of private companies from Aadhaar project, Sibal said the idea to involve private companies was not just "undemocratic" but was against the spirit of democracy, and now the court decision will prevent information from going into private hands.
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra also hit back at the Congress, saying the order has in fact exposed the opposition party.
The Congress favoured middlemen while the Modi government brought Aadhaar to ensure that benefits are given directly to people, he said.
"We see it as a big victory of the Modi government, the pro-poor Modi government. The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of Aadhaar and has also said that it does not violate privacy," Patra said.
The Aadhaar project was launched by the previous UPA government primarily to plug the loopholes in delivering benefits of social welfare schemes to intended beneficiaries. The NDA government expanded the ambit of the project.
The Trinamool Congress also hailed striking down of Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act which allowed corporate entities to access its data.
"SC strikes down section 57 of Aadhaar Act, 2016. So you don't need to give your Aadhaar to private bodies like banks, schools, mobile companies. Trinamool and @mamataofficial fought hard for this," the party said in a tweet.
Many rights' activists welcomed the judgement, saying it is a "historic verdict" that will provide major relief to the common man while some termed it "disappointing".
"I think it is a historic judgement, and will provide a major relief to the common man. Private companies earlier would demand Aadhaar for offering services, or opening bank accounts, admission in schools and buying a mobile SIM card was denied to people for lack of it. So, it would spell out major relief for citizens," activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan said.
Amnesty India in a tweet said "making an Aadhaar card a prerequisite to access essential services and benefits can obstruct access to several constitutional rights, including the rights of people to food, health care, education and social security.
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