TIRUPATI: The Telugu Desam party has raised its concern over the likely “misuse” of people's data by the ruling YSR Congress party for political purposes. The party sought intervention from the Union home ministry to stop this exercise.
Addressing the media at Kondapuram in Udayagiri constituency in Nellore district on Friday, TD spokespersons Anam Venkataramana and Neelayapalem Vijaykumar, referred to the system of volunteers collecting details of persons from each household and the possibility of misuse of such data by the ruling party.
They said three consulting firms without adequate experience were entrusted by the Jagan-led government to handle this data. “Those involved in this process, known as the Field Operation Agencies, are the Ram Info Pvt Ltd, the Upadhi Techno Services, and Max Detective and Guarding Services. These companies have their data storage centre in Hyderabad; meaning they are storing AP's data in Telangana.”
They said the IPAC team openly advertised its involvement in this data mining process. “Revelations are of the participation of Unicorn Corporate Services, which is acting as a front for YSRC, and of its IT adviser Raji Kasireddy playing a key role. Interestingly, Unicorn shares an address with Aadan Distilleries, which is directly or indirectly owned by Vijayasai Reddy, the YSRC parliamentarian.”
The TD spokespersons said that the volunteers involved in the data profiling operation report to Gruha Saradhis employed by the YSRC. “The Gruha Saradhis, in turn, report to FOA officers at the mandal, district, and state levels. Thus, the YSRC is gaining access to detailed information about households.”
They said the profiling has led to a segregation of voters based on party lines and there consequently has been a significant increase in voter deletions from assembly constituency voters list and relocation of voters to distant booths, reducing their chances of voting.
The TD spokespersons also claimed that an amount of ₹350 crore has been paid for these activities.
They claimed that governments worldwide do not go for such extensive 360-degree profiling, because of its potential for negative consequences if the data falls into the wrong hands. They also claimed that such profiling of citizens' data infringed upon their fundamental rights, particularly their right to personal information.
