By U Anand Kumar | ENS – NEW DELHI Published: 07th December 2013 09:29 AM Last Updated: 07th December 2013 09:29 AM
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At a time when the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has claimed to have issued 51 crore Aadhaar numbers, the CPM has demanded cancellation of  a tie-up between the UIDAI and a US firm and suspension of the Aadhaar scheme till Parliament deliberates and decides on its future and, if required, after a legislative enactment.
Terming the report that UIDAI has tied up with the US company having CIA links as a matter of deep concern, the CPM politburo on Thursday said that the US company, which provides the software to manage the data base for the registration of Aadhaar, had CIA as “one of the investors.”
“Earlier too, the UIDAI had entered into contracts with the US-based company, L-1 Identity Solutions, and another French company for the Aadhar project.  The collection of personal data and biometrics of all Indian citizens through the Aadhaar programme has been made available to the US agencies through the employment of these companies,” the politburo said.
 “It is now known through the Snowden files that the US authorities have been suborning all data through US telecom and internet companies.  The Indian government and the UIDAI has compromised the vital data collected of Indian citizens  by such tie-ups,” it added.
The CPM also said the UIDAI collection of data has no legal basis and it is being used illegally to make the Aadhaar number compulsory for delivery of social services and subsidies.
Meanwhile, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said that it was in the process of completing its mandate of covering 60 crore people by the end of the current fiscal. “With generation of about 11 lakh Aadhaar numbers every day, the flagship programme appears all set to complete its mandate of covering 60 crore population in the next few months,” the UIDAI said in a statement.