DoT to talk to UIDAI, telcos on compliance with Aadhaar verdict
New Delhi, Sep 27 : The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) would talk to Unique Identification Authority of India and telecom operators to make sure telecom regulations and service providers are in compliance with the Supreme Court verdict on Aadhaar, said DoT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan on Thursday.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday, while upholding the constitutional validity of Aadhaar, struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, disallowing private entities from possessing Aadhaar numbers of individuals.
The judgement also barred telecom companies and online wallet services from seeking the unique identity number of consumers.
"We will be sitting in the coming days with the Aadhaar authorities and the TSPs (telecom service providers) to make sure we are in complete compliance with the Supreme Court order," Sundararajan told reporters.
The department would also take legal advice to understand how to go ahead in terms of compliance with the judgement, she added.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
