The online leakage of personal information of six girl students, most of them minors, from Karnataka's Udupi, where the first protests in connection with the hijab row were reported recently, figured in the Rajya Sabha on Friday with a member demanding protection of data rights.
Raising the issue through a Zero-Hour mention, Mausam Noor of the Trinamul Congress (TMC) said amidst the hijab ban controversy, personal data of at least six girl students was leaked and shared across social media platforms.
"Their personal information like names, addresses etc. have been shared by multiple people, thereby violating their privacy," she said.
The hijab row had erupted in Udupi in December last year when six students were prevented from attending classes because they wanted to cover their heads for religious reasons.
Stating that data leakage and violation are not uncommon these days, the TMC MP said personal information and pictures of multiple Muslim women were leaked and used against their will in the SulliDeal and BulliBai apps cases.
"In recent times, leaking of personal information has become a common way of violating women's rights and privacy and safety," she said, adding, "Leaking data and personal information is not just a threat to the safety of people, but also a violation of the basic fundamental rights such as the right to privacy."
Noor said the issue needs to be addressed and it should be ensured that the data rights of everyone, especially minor girls and women, are protected.
Sushil Kumar Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded scrapping of the discretionary quota of MPs to recommend admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas, saying it goes against transparency and meritocracy, and breeds corruption.
Under the KVS Special Dispensation Admission Scheme (MP Quota), a Member of Parliament (MP) in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha can recommend the names of a maximum of 10 students every academic year for admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas.
The admissions made under this quota not only skew the teacher-student ratio but also deprive several sections of the benefits of reservation as such recommendations do not follow the 50 per cent quota rule provided for SC, ST and OBC community students, he said.
Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) said the teachers of government-run primary schools should not be deployed on election duty and for other administrative jobs as it impacts the education of poor students.
A computer-literate clerk must be appointed at every government-run primary school for filing mandatory reports such as that of mid-day meals, which otherwise has to be done by a teacher by cutting into class time, he added.
Associating with the issue, Tiruchi Siva of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said the matter of low salaries of teachers should be addressed as well.
While Prashanta Nanda of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) demanded immediate release of pensions for artisans, which have not been paid since April 2021, Shaktisinh Gohil of the Congress raised the issue of the Indian fishermen languishing in Pakistani prisons.
He said 580 Indian fishermen are lodged in jails in the neighbouring country for accidentally straying to Pakistani waters while fishing off the Gujarat coast.
Raising the issue of a 44-year-old fisherman who was caught by Pakistani Marines on December 9, 2018, Nanda said the punishment for trespassing into the Pakistani side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) is three months' imprisonment.
Despite serving the sentence, the fisherman was not released and he died in a Pakistani prison on February 3 this year, he said, adding that it has been a month and a half but the body has not been handed over by the Pakistani authorities.
The BJD leader demanded that the government use diplomatic and other channels to secure the release of the Indian fishermen and ensure that the body of the deceased fisherman is brought back to India so that the family members could perform the last rites.
