‘Kashmiris viewed with deep suspicion’: Mehbooba on J&K govt’s ‘unique ID’ plan
Srinagar, Dec 12: Former Chief Minister and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti Monday said that the plan to create unique IDs for all families in Jammu and Kashmir is another “surveillance tactic to tighten the iron grip” on the lives of Kashmir residents.
She alleged that the people of Kashmir are viewed with deep suspicion and the proposed plan is “emblematic of the widening trust deficit”, especially after 2019, the year Article 370 providing special status to Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated.
She said that creating ‘a unique family ID’ for J&K residents is emblematic of the widening trust deficit especially post 2019. “Kashmiris are viewed with deep suspicion & this is another surveillance tactic to tighten the iron grip on their lives,” Mehbooba Mufti said in a tweet.
Pertinently, the plan to create unique IDs for all families in Jammu and Kashmir was unveiled at a recent national conference on e-governance in Katra in Reasi district where Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar released the Digital J&K Vision Document. The administration said the objective behind the plan was the easy selection of eligible beneficiaries of various social welfare schemes.
“The database would identify each and every family in J&K and would collect the basic data of the family, provided with the consent of the family, in a digital format.”
Congress chief spokesperson and former legislator Ravinder Sharma had questioned the government’s intention and also its capacity to protect such digital databases from cyber-attacks.
“Why does the government wish to peek into everything? They already have enough data through Aadhaar and are providing benefits through direct bank transfer (DBT) mode,” Sharma had said. [KNT]
