New Delhi: One of the main opponents to the linking of Aadhaar number with phone connections and bank accounts, the Trinamool Congress, has hailed the Supreme Court’s verdict over the issue on Wednesday. The party was one among those who had vociferously argued against the linking of Aadhaar with such services and had said that it was an infringement on one’s Right to Privacy. “We welcome the verdict by the Supreme Court. It is a victory of the people of this country and we are very happy,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement from Milan in Italy. She is in Italy on an official tour.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Aadhaar scheme is constitutionally valid but struck down some of its provisions like the inclusion of linking of bank accounts, mobile phones, and school admissions.

“Days of the BJP government are over in the country,” Ms Banerjee said in her statement. Party spokesperson and leader of Trinamool in Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien said, “Mamata Banerjee had issued an open challenge on Aadhaar. Our stance has been vindicated.” He said, “I am glad the court said we need to take a closer look at data privacy and data protection…the BJP can’t make it (India) into a policed state.”

In a similar but sharp criticism, senior Supreme Court advocate and Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, his party is “delighted” with the Supreme Court delivering its verdict on Aadhaar scheme. “It is a huge judicial slap on BJP…it gives importance to our privacy…the Supreme Court has balanced all the parameters of Aadhaar Card…they have later added hundreds of unnecessary things into it, which were baseless…it’s a great blow by throwing out the dirty bath water but preserving the baby,” said Mr Singhvi.

CPI party leader D Raja said that several issues still need to be addressed regarding the scheme and said, “They are not just legal questions; there are various fundamental questions…Parliament will have to address some of the issues, which judiciary can’t address.”

Earlier to the judgment, many private entities had already got many of their customers to link Aadhaar details with respective services. Mobile operator companies were sending reminders through SMS asking subscribers to link their mobile numbers with Aadhaar number. Banks were too sending SMS messages reminding them to link their account numbers with Aadhaar number. But after this judgment, there is no need for the customers or consumers to link their Aadhaar number except for PAN card.

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