4 HELD WITH 205 KG CONTRABAND IN DELHI

NEW DELHI: Police have recovered narcotics worth over ` 1 crore in international market and arrested four drug couriers who brought the contraband from Odisha and Nepal for supply in the national capital. PTI

“Moreover, Delhi’s population has also increased since 2011,” Maidan added. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the nodal body for rolling out Aadhaar in the country.

Of the 20 million enrolled, the UIDAI has generated about 17.7 million unique numbers in Delhi till Thursday, about a million more than the city population. Around 793 million Aadhaar numbers have been generated so far across the country with the UIDAI mandated to cover the entire population by June.

A Census official, however, countered the argument made by Aadhaar authorities and said census figures couldn’t be compared with UIDAI numbers because it adopted a different enrollment process.

“For example, someone living in Gurgaon can enroll in Delhi with a local address in the absence of a verification process by UIDAI. In contrast, the census exercise only counts people who are ordinarily living in a particular area,” the official said. He added any question on the quality of the census or Aadhaar figures could only be raised after the entire population was covered.

But the controversy doesn’t end there. When Aadhaar numbers generated for people above 18 years of age – who are also eligible to vote – were compared with the election commission’s database as of January 1 2015, HT found 800,000 more people with the unique identification code than the city’s voter base. Maidan, however, said it could be because people who migrated out of Delhi didn’t get their addresses changed on the UIDAI database.

The identification project, one of the previous UPA government’s flagship programmes, has been riddled with controversies with the Supreme Court repeatedly asking the Centre to not make Aadhaar mandatory and a bunch of petitions against the disputed biometric data collection process.

Security agencies in the past have also raised doubts over the UIDAI’s enrollment process, saying people were getting Aadhaar numbers -- required for opening bank accounts and getting government entitlements such as cooking gas subsidy -- without any verification. One can register for an Aadhaar number by submitting a driving licence, voter identity card, any card issued by the department of posts or a photo ration card, which is proof of both residence and identity. The authenticity of the documents submitted isn’t validated by the UIDAI.

Looming over AAP’s new-found peaceistheMarch28nationalcouncil meet, which will see a gathering of 300 members from across the country. The national council elects the national executive which chooses PAC members.

Somefireworkscanbeexpectedas YadavandBhushan’sousterfromthe PAC and party’s India plans come up for discussion during the meeting to be addressed by Kejriwal.

The rebel faction has among other things questioned Kejriwal’s alleged dictatorial-style of functioning and lack of transparency in decision-making. “Those who swear by the party’s constitution would not give up the issue of transparency,” a party source said.

Yadavenjoysconsiderablesupport amongthevolunteers--thebackbone of theparty--fromoutsideDelhi.The statevolunteersoutnumberthosefrom theCapital--mostof whoareKejriwal supporters -- in the national council.

“Theroleof YadavandBhushan... alsoremainstobedecided.If itcomes to vote at the national council, things may get messy,” the source said.

YadavandBhushan’sremovalwas closely contested. Of the 21 national executive members, only 11 voted in favourof thedecision.Twomembers, including Kejriwal, didn’t vote.

Following a campaign launched by some AAP MLAs to kick YadavBhushanoutof thepartyaswell,both sidesarecallingupandwritingemails to the national council members for support, sources said.

The party struggled through Wednesday to explain its U-turn. “I don’t know where this confusion (thatAAPwillnotlookbeyondDelhi) came from. To dispel that impression,thePACtalkedabouttheparty’s national expansion,” AAP leader Ashutosh said.

Immediately after he took oath as the CM, Kejriwal said the decision to contest the Lok Sabha elections -– whichprovedtobedisastrous--wasan arrogantmove.Heassuredsupporters hewouldfocusonlyonDelhiandreiteratedthepositiononMarch8,saying hewasnotNapoleonouttowinstates.

“Kejriwal’sfocusonDelhidoesnot meanthatthepartywon’tworkatthe nationalfront.TheAAPwillexpand, colleagues will get responsibilities in states, volunteers will have a role in decision-making,”seniorpartyleader Sanjay Singh said.

Yadav welcomed the decision. “I am happy as now we are focusing on correct issues,” he said.