Anti-Aadhaar activists across India have urged citizens to switch off their mobile phones between 11 am and 11.30 am on Saturday in protest against the government making it mandatory to link Aadhaar with mobile numbers. The activists have called on citizens to extend the protest for 30 days.

Under the “Opt-out from Aadhaar” campaign, these activists plan to submit a petition to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Unique Identification Authority of India and the Supreme Court, demanding that the Centre stop asking citizens to link the number to multiple services.

Citizens have also been encouraged to send an email to their mobile service providers to tell them why they oppose linking Aadhaar to mobile services. The campaign has provided a template and contact details for several operators.

A blog post by “RethinkAadhaar” states several reasons for opposing the rule . It claims that the government has violated Indian citizens’ constitutional right to privacy by making such linking compulsory. The post says telecom operators may use personal data for commercial purposes, and that there is no protection from using such personal data to target and profile individuals.

“The government can behave like this because it thinks that we citizens will not push back,” the post reads. “Let’s show them they’re wrong. Let’s tell them we are not for sale.”

Citizens have till February 6 to link their Aadhaar with their mobile numbers.