Aadhaar Is Safe And No Leakage Has Ever Happened: BJP's Vinit Goenka
Government has reassured that your identification document, Aadhaar is safe and no leakage has ever happened. "I can say with confidence that no data leak has taken place. Aadhaar initiative is not in nascent stages and usage of word 'nascent' is inappropriate," Vinit Goenka, member of the task force Information Technology at Government of India.
After a news report which revealed that anonymous sellers on WhatsApp are selling Aadhaar details of over a billion Indians for just Rs 500, UIDAI also assured people that their "Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure." With all the various institutions like banks and telecom service providers now requiring you to link your Aadhaar details, 12-digit unique ID number is of high value for Indian citizens.
Goenka, an active politician at Bhartiya Janta Party said that while the idea of Aadhaar was conceived during the days of UPA but BJP strengthened the idea technically, created legislation, awareness and educated the technicians to handle the massive initiative. "Implementing the humongous project is not as easy there could be people who come out with deliberate attempts of sabotage and pilferage apart from the unforeseen technical glitches," Goenka clarified.
He further added an instance about the times when India migrated from coal to gas. "Many of our grandmothers faced situation of gas cylinder bursting. But now we rarely hear about such accidents. With the improvement of technology and awareness of its usage, accidents have gone down. Hence, Aadhaar will be strengthened further," said Goenka, who also served the BJP as its national co-convener of the BJP central IT Cell where he spearheaded the digital strategy of the party in the run up to the general elections of 2014.
An investigation by The Tribune claimed that sellers on WhatsApp are providing unrestricted access to over a billion Aadhaar details for just Rs 500. Newspaper's correspondent "purchased" a service from an anonymous seller on WhatsApp by paying Rs 500 via Paytm. It goes on to write that within minutes, the agent provided a login ID and password to a portal where the correspondent could enter any Aadhaar number and access to all of its details including name, address, phone number, photo and email. However, government and UIDAI has denied the report.
