Chandigarh, Aug 22 Affirming the Punjab government's commitment to protecting the personal data of its citizens under ‘the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023’, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema on Friday said no individual, including members of the BJP, will be allowed to collect personal data from the public under any pretext.
He also questioned whether the BJP would take responsibility for any fraud that might occur as a result of their party members collecting data through camps.
Finance Minister Cheema accused the BJP of becoming a “vote thief party” since forming the government at the Centre in 2014, citing numerous incidents of electoral manipulation from the Chandigarh mayoral election to voter irregularities in the Bihar elections.
He alleged the BJP’s data collection camps in Punjab are a ploy to manipulate voter lists and potentially steal money from the bank accounts of unsuspecting citizens.
He emphasised that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 was enacted to safeguard citizens' data, ensuring that no private individual can collect personal information without the permission of the competent authority.
He highlighted that the BJP’s collection of vital documents like Aadhaar and voter cards during these camps is illegal and could lead to serious consequences.
The Finance Minister said the BJP’s attempts to undermine democracy and tamper with the Constitution, drafted by B.R. Ambedkar, are well known. He pointed to previous instances of voter list manipulation in the Delhi Assembly elections, which were repeatedly brought to the attention of the Election Commission by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and were also raised by AAP Members of Parliament in the Parliament.
Finance Minister Cheema assured the public that the state government is dedicated to delivering the benefits of all government schemes to its people.
He said nearly 500 citizen services are being provided at people's doorsteps, and the extensive network of Sewa Kendras across the state continues to assist people in accessing citizen-centric services.
Finance Minister Cheema challenged the BJP to work towards a greater good by urging the Central government to release more than Rs 50,000 crore in GST compensation, Rs 8,000 crore in Rural Development Funds, and Rs 1,000 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana that is due to Punjab.
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