Jaitley Responds to Aadhaar Hacking Concerns, Says Technology Is Vital

Responding to Opposition's fears that linking income tax returns and bank accounts with Aadhaar may result in hacking, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that the fear of technology being susceptible to misuse does not mean we should not use it.

"If firewalls can be broken, and hacking can be done, it will be done whether Aadhaar is there or not. Don't say it is due to Aadhaar," Jaitley said while replying to a debate on the Finance Bill 2017 in the Rajya Sabha.

Earlier, Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram asked Jaitley as to how the government plans to protect the privacy of bank accounts and income tax details of people.

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"Pentagon has been hacked. How will you protect hacking of income tax and bank accounts through Aadhaar?" Chidambaram asked.

Jaitley replied: "I think Pentagon got hacked without Aadhaar being there. So hacking can take place even if Aadhaar is not involved. If technology can be breached, doesn't mean we shouldn't use technology."

He said that the provision of Aadhaar to be furnished while filing income tax returns is meant to eliminate possibility of tax fraud and of possessing multiple PAN cards.