---
title: "Newsletter February 2019 A Call To Arms"
description: "## Pre-election push against Aadhaar: A Call to ArmsSome of you might already be clued in on what our politicians are planning for their election manifestos. In terms of Aadhaar, while there may not b..."
pubDate: 2019-02-28
author: Rethink Aadhaar
category: Uncategorized
originalUrl: https://rethinkaadhaar.in/blog/newsletter-february-2019-a-call-to-arms
---

## Pre-election push against Aadhaar: A Call to ArmsSome of you might already be clued in on what our politicians are planning for their election manifestos. In terms of Aadhaar, while there may not be any immediately positive indications, efforts are underway to push parties to take a stated stance to at least ensure that Aadhaar is purely a voluntary id similar to other Officially Valid Document(OVDs). However, we will need to push the demand through to all political parties we can possibly contact. **A **[**petition of demands**](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_bW-oTQ83CVOB_96nuUC9UOQvuEsJRdq/view?usp=sharing)** has been drafted; please let us know latest by noon on Thursday, February 28, if you and/or your organization wish to be a signatory to this petition. **
We will also need to conduct at least one on-ground countrywide agitation prior to the elections, which will be accompanied by circulating a status update on Aadhaar exclusions, leaks, and other critical failures of the project. **The timeline for such a public agitation is the week of March 17-24 (i.e. either side of Holi; latest by end of March). Please send your name, city, and contact number to Raghu/godavar at 97177-49998 or **[**godavar@gmail.com**](mailto:godavar@gmail.com)** if you wish to participate in this push. **Please also share your suggestions on how we can expand our impact.** **Do forward this message to those who you think will find it important, asking them to contact Raghu/godavar.
## Supreme Court reiterates Aadhaar-PAN linking mandatory; deadline March 31 :(In an order passed on Feb. 4, the Supreme Court reiterated that linking of [Aadhaar and PAN](https://barandbench.com/aadhaar-linkage-pan-mandatory-returns-supreme-court/) is mandatory. Responding to the Union government's petition impugning the order in *Shreya Sen*, the Court said that filing of income tax returns for the assessment year 2019-2020 should comply with the September 2018 Aadhaar judgment which upheld Aadhaar-PAN linking.
As things currently stand, legally, one has to mandatorily obtain an Aadhaar number and link it with PAN by 31st March 2019. While we continue to hope for a favorable review of this order, we suggest that readers follow their discretion and/or seek legal advice should they not possess an Aadhaar number and/or not wish to link with their PAN. We also note that many citizens are opposing** **this order in the spirit of civil disobedience against enrolling a project which poses a lifelong threat for one’s personal security.** **Instead, they have chosen to face whatever fines or penalties might be imposed for failing to link Aadhaar with PAN or failing to quote it in their income tax return (which will not be due until July 31 at any rate). 
Note: Our lawyers have advised that not linking Aadhaar to PAN could result in a fine of INR 10,000, besides a 2-year jail term. This, we feel, is still a lower cost than that arising from enrolling in the Aadhaar project which threatens our fundamental right to life and livelihood. 
## Workers in Varanasi district protest denial of rations due to e-POS issuesOn Feb. 5, workers from 50 gram panchayats in the Cholapur and Chiraigaon blocks of Varanasi [staged a dharna](https://m.patrika.com/varanasi-news/varanasi-workers-not-found-quota-food-4088421/) [Hindi Link] at the Tehsil headquarters protesting their exclusion from receiving PDS rations since November 2018 due to e-POS limitations. In their petition to the UP Chief Minister, members of MNREGA Mazdoor Union and Mahila Chetna Samiti Sangathan highlighted several issues with the ePOS machines, including delays in distribution due to weak or failing networks in far-flung villages resulting in long queues; deletion of ration cards and/or denial of rations if rations not procured for 3 months (common for workers migrating to cities with families); children forced to miss school waiting at ration shops for biometric authentication should their mothers’ biometric fail to get authenticated, etc. The Tehsil authorities have promised redressal of these grievances within 15 days, failing which the workers plan to stage a district-wide agitation. **[Read the **[**English version**](https://rethinkaadhaar.in/blog/2019/2/13/hundreds-of-labourers-in-varanasi-protest-against-biometric-authentication-for-food-rations)** of the Press Note.]**