Vijayawada, March 4: The features of the Seva Mitra app, developed by IT Grids (India) Private Limited in Andhra Pradesh, sparked a controversy in the last few months. According to reports, the features of the app such as profiling voters were based on caste and party affiliations. This has led to a major controversy in Vijayawada. A report by TOI states that the app needs a TDP membership number and a password. Moreover, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), that is headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu, the incumbent Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, selected party members as Seva Mitras at polling booth level. Aadhaar Data Misuse Continues? SBI Alleges Biometric Data Breach, UIDAI Refutes Claim.

The report informs that the members of the TDP checked if members in their areas were residing at the given address and had they received government benefits. TDP spokesperson KC Chekuri said the app has only 75 lakh party members. Giving details, Chekuri said information on Aadhaar, caste and other details were collected since the party provided insurance coverage to every member. Aadhaar Card Holders Can Opt Out, Get Their Data Deleted As Government Looks to Amend Act.

The spokesperson added saying that the reason for profiling a list of beneficiaries is to check for any shortcoming in the delivery process. He added saying that taking feedback from party members was not a crime and the app, too, was aimed to do the same. The spokesperson claimed that no government data was stolen.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 04, 2019 02:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).