Rahul Gandhi criticises Centre over ‘imposition’ of UPI fees, BJP says ‘Jhooth ki Goonj’
New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre over its decision to “impose” fees on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, while the BJP hit back, accusing him of spreading lies and fake news.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said: “The Modi government has quietly opened the door to imposing fees on UPI.”
“Now, MDR can be levied on merchant UPI transactions above Rs. 2,000. Even if these transactions account for just 5% of the volume, they make up nearly 65% of UPI’s total transaction value,” he said.
Despite the government’s statement that no fees will be charged to customers, Gandhi said: “But where will the fees imposed on shopkeepers ultimately come from? Added to prices, straight out of the customer’s pocket.”
“American payment companies have long opposed India’s zero-MDR policy. Now, the Modi government has opened the path to changing the policy in exactly that direction,” the Congress leader alleged.
Hitting back at LoP Gandhi’s allegations, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said: “Rahul Gandhi and the Congress are a ‘naraz fufa’ who run a shop of lies.
“This is the same party that had opposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s advocacy for the UPI revolution…Congress has been a historical opponent of digital financial revolution achieved by India under PM Modi and is spreading these lies today,” he remarked.
Referring to the BJP’s performance in Rajasthan civic body polls, Bhandari said: “Rajasthan has shown the Congress that it is the ‘Truth’ that emerges victorious rather than their ‘Jhooth ki Goonj.”
“Today the entire country is watching that the Congress is frustrated because the Indian economy is moving forward and that the UPI has been successful in India, which did not happen during its tenure. It is due to this sick mindset that Congress is disseminating this fake news,” the BJP leader added.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Tuesday said that it has revised the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for select UPI transactions, under which charges will apply to certain merchant payments above Rs 2,000, while small merchants and low-value transactions will continue to benefit from zero MDR.
