Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das Wednesday criticised the Centre over the introduction of Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select UPI transactions, alleging that the move would increase the financial burden on small traders, vegetable vendors and ordinary consumers.
Addressing a press conference at Congress Bhawan here along with AICC Odisha in-charge Lalji Desai, Das said UPI had become an integral part of everyday life and alleged that the Centre’s decision marked a departure from its earlier promotion of digital payments.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that a 0.4 per cent MDR will apply from October 15 to specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, capped at Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 and above.
Person-to-person transactions and UPI payments up to Rs 2,000 will remain free, while small merchants covered under the zero-MDR framework will also remain exempt.
Das said the government had earlier encouraged people, including farmers, small shopkeepers and middle-class families, to shift from cash to digital payments under the Digital India initiative.
“People trusted the government’s assurances and gradually moved away from carrying cash and adopted UPI through their mobile phones.
But after making people dependent on digital payments, the government is now preparing to impose charges on UPI transactions,” he alleged.
He termed the move a “betrayal” of the public and alleged that small traders and ordinary consumers would bear the brunt of the additional financial burden.
“The financial backbone of ordinary consumers and pet ty traders will be weakened by this anti-people decision. The Congress will take to the streets to protect the rights of the poor,” Das said.
Referring to the government’s position during the recent parliamentary debate, Das said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had assured Parliament in August that the UPI-related amendment was only an enabling provision and that consumers and small merchants would not have to bear MDR charges.
He questioned the subsequent notification and introduction of MDR on specified merchant transactions above Rs 2,000 from October 15.
Desai also criticised the Centre over the issue and alleged that PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Finance Minister were misleading people on the impact of the new framework.
Desai alleged that the government was adopting measures that would ultimately put additional pressure on ordinary people and cited the MMDR issue as another example of what he described as the government’s anti-people policies.
The Congress leaders demanded that the Centre reconsider the decision and ensure that digital payments do not become an additional financial burden for small businesses and ordinary citizens.
