MADURAI: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition has been filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, seeking action against the DMK and its functionaries for alleged unauthorised collection of Aadhaar and personal details of individuals under the guise of the political campaign Oraniyil Tamil Nadu.
The petitioner, S Rajkumar of Thirupuvanam taluk in Sivaganga, accused the DMK cadre of trespassing and pasting posters with the CM’s picture, along with the slogan “Oraniyil Tamil Nadu”, without the residents’ consent. They demanded personal identification documents of the residents and their family members, including Aadhaar, voter ID and passbook, he alleged.
The functionaries also obtain the contact details of the residents, and without the former’s permission and knowledge, enrol them as DMK members, after inputting the one-time password (OTP) sent to their phones. If anyone refuses, the cadre threaten them that all state benefits availed by the family will be permanently suspended, the petitioner claimed.
The collection of such sensitive data is not just an invasion of privacy but can be used to manipulate voters, he said, and requested the court to declare the same as unconstitutional. Moreover, Rajkumar also wanted the party to destroy all information collected so far. He further sought a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the centre to initiate a thorough investigation into the matter and take legal action against the DMK.
The petition has been listed for hearing on Monday.