New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders on Wednesday rejected Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s concerns over UPI charges and his allegation that the decision was taken under pressure from the United States, calling the claim baseless and defending the government’s move.
Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on UPI charges, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said the decision concerning UPI transactions of up to Rs 2,000 was fair and would not create difficulties for small vendors and businesses.
“I feel that the decision taken by the government regarding UPI transactions up to Rs 2,000 is fair. For transactions up to Rs 2,000, small vendors and businesses face no issues. However, if their business transactions exceed Rs 2,000, charging a nominal 0.4 per cent fee is not a huge burden. For instance, on transactions up to Rs 75,000, they only have to pay around Rs 300,” Athawale said.
He also dismissed Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that the decision was taken because of pressure from the US, saying there was no connection between the two.
“Rahul Gandhi’s allegation that this step was taken under US pressure is completely baseless. Rahul Gandhi is adept at spreading falsehoods and habitually makes misleading claims on various issues. America has nothing to do with this decision,” Athawale said.
BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana also defended the government’s decision, while accusing the Congress of trying to create fear among people over the issue.
“Congress should look within itself and see what it did during its time. The Congress wants to create fear in society. There is no burden on the poor regarding UPI charges. However, when you use a facility and make bulk transactions, institutions should receive some consideration,” Khatana said.
BJP National Spokesperson Guru Prakash also targeted Rahul Gandhi over his reference to the United States, accusing the Congress leader of repeatedly attributing government decisions to American pressure.
“Rahul Gandhi ji has developed a Trump phobia, an America phobia. Every decision that is made is under pressure from America. I think Rahul Gandhi ji has taken a little too much inspiration from history. Indira Gandhi ji used to say, ‘America’s hand is involved’, and she even called Jayaprakash Narayan ji, who was from Bihar, a CIA agent,” Guru Prakash said.
He also cited an earlier statement attributed to veteran Congress leader P. Chidambaram while arguing that the party had previously questioned the practicality of digital payments for small vendors.
“I want to make it clear that Rahul Gandhi ji’s party is the same party whose leader, Chidambaram ji, used to say, ‘If UPI payments come and payments are made through technology, how will a vegetable vendor manage?’ Today, the world’s most robust, transparent and better UPI interface is in India, and Rahul Gandhi ji is making such statements. There is no meaning to these statements,” he said.
Guru Prakash further accused Rahul Gandhi of pursuing what he described as his own agenda over the UPI issue and questioned the basis of the figures cited by the Congress leader.
“Rahul Gandhi has been pushing his own agenda for the last two days, but there was no basis for it. He does not make any concrete or substantial points and has become a kind of master at making baseless statements,” he added.
JD(U) National Spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan, speaking to IANS, said, “Ordinary consumers do not need to worry too much. Generally speaking, we can say that this is a very minor increase, and even that cost will have to be borne by the merchants.”
Speaking about UPI’s role as a reliable medium for digital transactions, he said, “As far as UPI being considered a reliable means of digital transactions is concerned, when India set its targets for digital transactions.”
Earlier in the day, the Finance Ministry debunked claims which suggested the MDR change in the UPI ecosystem is due to foreign influence, stressing that India’s digital payment decisions are made independently.
Since its launch in 2016, UPI has grown into the world’s largest real-time interoperable payment system — entirely on India’s own terms, the ministry posted on social media platform X.
This came as Gandhi on Tuesday lashed out at the Centre over its decision to “impose” fees on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said: “The Modi government has quietly opened the door to imposing fees on UPI.”
“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.
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.
(IANS)
