January 2, 2018
Dinesh Trivedi speaks regarding linking of Aadhaar to welfare schemes
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thank you, Madam Speaker, for allowing me to highlight a serious issue related with Aadhaar. Madam, Aadhaar was basically required for efficient welfare scheme delivery system. But Madam, the very purpose of Aadhaar is not only getting defeated but also it is becoming discriminatory. I will tell you how.
Aadhaar claims to make delivery of welfare schemes efficient by means of biometric authentication. However, there are numerous cases where the authentication fails. In many cases it fails because people do not have the biometrics – like in case of leprosy. There are people who are elderly. Madam, this country is mainly of the farmers and of the labourers. Hard work on the field often leads to the destruction of their biometrics. Same happens to labourers also.
Madam, there has been a case because of which this issue came to highlights. A woman named Sajeeda Begum, a resident at a leprosy in Bengaluru, struggled to make ends meet as her pension was stopped, because of the lack of an Aadhaar card. Now, scan of the iris and fingerprints are required for the Aadhaar. These biometrics sometimes fail, and we all know the reasons why. The hospital authorities wrote a letter on behalf of the lady and in this case, they made an amend.
Madam, why can’t we have a special mechanism where we do not need any advocacy and people in these categories are automatically given their dues. Otherwise, Madam, we are doing a great disservice to the poorest of the poor.
Thank you, Madam.
