MP asks Prime Minister to introduce new legislation for privacy rights

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Member of Parliament, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to explore the possibility of a new privacy legislation. He has also suggested that the Prime Minister could instead review and amend the existing IT Act, Sec 43 A, and other applicable sections. He recommends that a multi-stakeholder consultation be initiated so that the views of the stakeholders and security agencies are taken into account while the legislation is being “conceived and architected.”

Chandrasekhar has said that there is a need for an overarching privacy legislation as databases like Jan Dhan Yojana, BPL, LPG, and so forth are out of the purview of the Aadhaar bill, but are still significant parts of the subsidy delivery system. He says that this needs to be covered under the Citizens’ Rights to Privacy and Protection of Information. He also thanks the current government and points out that he raised the issue with the UPA Government. However, due to the “lack of sensitivity and response,” the issue of UID/privacy ended up at the Supreme Court where he is an impleading petitioner.

[Source:- Digit]