Rahul Gandhi, Opposition demand rollback of UPI MDR fee over new charges

Opposition parties intensified criticism of the government’s decision to introduce MDR on select UPI merchant transactions above Rs 2,000. Rahul Gandhi and other leaders demanded withdrawal of the fee, alleging it could affect digital payments and benefit foreign card companies

New Delhi: The opposition on Wednesday stepped up its attack on the government over the MDR regime for UPI and demanded a rollback of the move, with Rahul Gandhi alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to “prostrate” before US President Donald Trump.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha urged the PM to “stop lying down in front of the US, have a spine, stand up” and rollback the “UPI tax”.

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The Congress accused the government of giving in to a US demand to get rid of zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) and charge for UPI. In a swipe at Modi, the party said he has “redefined NOTA — Narendra’s Ongoing Trump Appeasement”.

The government on Tuesday introduced a 0.4 per cent fee on transfers worth more than Rs 2,000 made to merchants through UPI from October 15, while explicitly ring-fencing everyday person-to-person transactions as well as small payments from any charge.

Gandhi said, “(Former prime minister) Indira (Gandhi) ji was once asked whether she leans left or right and her response was ‘I don’t lean left, I don’t lean right, I stand straight’. Modi ji has a completely different concept, he is neither left nor right, he has decided to lie down straight and prostrate himself in front of Donald Trump.” “He (Modi) has put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving a huge amount of money to the United States,” Gandhi said in a video in which he is seen standing before a portrait of his grandmother Indira Gandhi.

“Modi ji, rollback the UPI tax. Now,” he said in a post on X accompanying the video.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh asked whether the MDR was announced to enable US card companies to compete with UPI.

In a post on X, Ramesh said the US House of Representatives will on Thursday vote on a bill that proposes 100 per cent tariffs on India.
The US Senate has already approved this draconian law, he pointed out.

Ramesh took a swipe at the government and tagged a finance ministry post from June 2025, which stated that claims that the MDR will be charged on UPI transactions were completely false.

“The U-turn Ustad owes an explanation for his somersault,” he said.

The Trump regime has also been cracking down on Indian immigrants and making tougher laws against them, the Congress leader said.
H-1B visa costs have been increased and such holders could soon be deported immediately when out of a job, he said, adding that such holders are mostly IT professionals.

“Here, the Modi government has given in to a US demand to get rid of zero MDR and charge for UPI. The U.S. Trade Representative earlier this year criticized UPI for being free and having driven out Visa and Mastercard,” Ramesh said.

“Why 0.4% MDR? Is it because debit card MDR is also 0.4%? Is this being done to enable US card companies to compete with UPI?” he said.
The Congress leader asked if this is going to make UPI “sustainable” as the government claims.

Noting that the estimated annual cost of running the entire UPI ecosystem is around Rs 20,000 crore, Ramesh said this is less than 10 per cent of what the RBI has been transferring to the Union government over the past few years to show healthy public finances for the Modi government.

“The PM has redefined NOTA – Narendra’s Ongoing Trump Appeasement,” Ramesh said.

In another post, Ramesh termed the MDR regime “2017 GST Redux”.

Addressing a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said huge volumes of transactions happen through UPI, and PM Modi has once again decided to take money from people’s pockets.

She alleged that this was being done at the US’ behest, with American companies, including Mastercard and Visa, having long lobbied for higher MDR citing their losses.

“Mr. Modi is now complying with their demand at the cost of ordinary Indians,” she alleged.

Echoing the sentiments of the Congress, TMC MP Saugata Roy said the idea of levying a fee on UPI transactions has been opposed by the Congress and it is justified because this will lead to an increase in the price of most commodities.

“Though the charge will not be levied on the user, the shopkeeper will have to pay the charge. That’s why Rahul Gandhi has opposed this, and I support the same,” he told PTI Videos.

In Patna, RJD MP Manoj Jha also flayed the government over the issue.

“This is not a decision taken of their own accord, with their own wisdom. When we talk about American imperialism, this is like bowing down before it. They’ve now given a clarification, below Rs 2,000.

“First they moved people to digital transactions. Now see how many things this will affect and in what ways,” he said.

“But what’s important is that we took this decision at the behest of some visible power. It’s part of a broader management,” Jha alleged.
Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D Raja demanded that the government withdraw the “anti-people decision”.

“Charges on UPI usage, a publicly developed payment technology, are deeply unfortunate and have been brought under US pressure,” Raja claimed in a post on X.

He said the government claims that consumers will not be charged, but experience shows that merchants always find ways to pass new costs on to consumers.

“UPI was built as public digital infrastructure to provide simple, interoperable and low-cost payments. It must not be weakened to accommodate foreign corporate interests. The Modi government must withdraw this anti-people decision and keep UPI free,” the CPI leader said.