Contesting the government’s claims on the food security benefits of Aadhaar reaching millions of people as well on privacy issues and terming their findings as “skewed”, activist groups have written a letter to UIDAI chief Ajay Bhushan Pandey urging him to organise a public discussion on the matter.

In the public platform, “evidence on the impact of biometric authentication and use of Aadhaar in the delivery of public services can be presented in the public domain,” says the letter written by Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, among others belonging to Satark Nagrik Sangathan, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Right to Food Campaign and Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan.

The letter is in response to reports quoting Pandey as saying that the findings released by the activists at a press conference “arise from a skewed approach” and “misinterpretations”. He is also said to have declared that “to claim that Aadhaar is responsible for denial is a misconstrued fact presented with malafide intent”.