Opposition criticises government on Aadhaar amendments
New Delhi: The Opposition on Thursday criticised the government during the discussion on amendments to provide legal backing for voluntary seeding of biometric Aadhaar ID with mobile numbers and bank accounts.
Opposing the bill, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said the government used the ordinance route to bring in the legislation.
He said the ordinance was issued by the last government (from 2014-19) and the current government has brought it as a legislation.
The government is "resorting to the ordinance route without any rhyme and reason".
Chowdhury said it was the UPA government, which brought in the law, to which Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the NDA government gave legal status to Aadhaar.
"You have loaned the concept of Aadhaar from us (Aapne Aadhaar udhaar liya hain)," he said.
Chowdhury said the Supreme Court had also rapped the government for violating privacy in Aadhaar. Prasad said, "Under you (the UPA), Aadhaar lacked any backing (Aadhaar niradhar tha). We made a law for it".
The minister said Rs 7.84 lakh crore was sent through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to beneficiaries under different schemes. Nearly 1.41 lakh crore have been saved from middle men.
He said 123.81 crore people have Aadhaar cards and nearly 6.91 crore bank accounts have been linked to it.
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Steel mirrors deployed in Mysuru to discourage public urination
Mysuru (PTI): Fed up with people relieving themselves along roadsides, the Mysuru City Corporation has adopted a unique strategy to curb the practice and promote civic sense by installing reflective steel mirrors along pavements, officials said on Friday.
In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Corporation installed stainless steel sheets with a mirror finish along an 80-metre stretch opposite the Mysuru Suburban Bus Stand.
Officials said the reflective sheets are intended to confront anyone attempting to urinate in public with their own reflection, thereby discouraging the act psychologically.
“The idea is to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, prevent public nuisance, and promote civic sense. It is a simple yet psychological approach that encourages self-awareness through reflection,” officials added.
Soon after the mirrors were installed, videos of the initiative went viral on social media, with many people appreciating the administration’s innovative attempt to address public urination. At the same time, some users pointed out the lack of basic civic sense among people.
Several social media users also suggested that more public toilets, maintained in a hygienic condition, were needed to further discourage open urination.
Explaining how the idea originated, Nitesh Patil, Administrator and Regional Commissioner of the Mysuru City Corporation, told PTI that despite a public toilet being located next to the bus stand, many people continued to urinate in the open.
Even fines and warnings failed to deter them from relieving themselves against vacant compound walls, leaving behind a foul smell.
“One of our engineers came up with this idea, and we decided to implement it. The initiative has received a very positive response from the public, social media, and the press. We are now planning to identify more such locations in the city and install similar reflectors,” he said.
According to him, to ensure that the installation is both effective and visually appealing, LED lighting that switches on along with the streetlights has also been added, causing the stretch to glow at night and enhancing the city’s appearance.
Patil said the initiative had helped create civic awareness while also beautifying the city.
“We want our city to be clean and hygienic. We aspire to become the cleanest city in the country,” he added, recalling that Mysuru secured third place nationally in the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024–25 last year.
