Centre withdraws statement advising public against sharing Aadhar photocopies, cites ‘misinterpretation’

New Delhi, May 30: The Unique Identification Authority of India has withdrawn a Press Release issued by it on May 27th, through which it had asked people to not give the photocopy of their Aadhaar cards to anyone. In an advisory, the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) said that the earlier press release has been withdrawn due to the possibility of misinterpretation.

 

 

Aadhaar holders are only advised to exercise normal prudence in using and sharing it, the notice issued by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

 

The statement said, "It is learned that it was issued by them in the context of an attempt to misuse a photoshopped Aadhaar card. The release advised people not to share photocopies of their Aadhaar with any organisation because they can be misused. Alternatively, a masked Aadhaar, which displays only the last 4 digits of Aadhaar number, can be used."

 

 

 

"However, in view of the possibility of the misinterpretation of the press release, the same stands withdrawn with immediate effect," the statement said.

 

This comes after, the Bengaluru office of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had asked citizens to only share masked copies of their Aadhaar cards to prevent misuse. In a press release, it said, "Do not share photocopy of your Aadhaar with any organisation as it can be misused. Alternatively, please use a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last four digits of your Aadhaar number."

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