New Delhi: The Opposition Wednesday alleged that the government has bowed before “American imperialism” by introducing the MDR framework for UPI and took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he has redefined NOTA as “Narendra’s Ongoing Trump Appeasement”.
The move would push up prices of most commodities, the opposition claimed.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh asked whether the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) was announced to enable US card companies to compete with UPI.
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.
In his post on X, Ramesh said that the US House of Representatives will on Thursday vote on a bill that introduces 100 per cent tariffs on India.
The US Senate has already approved this draconian law, he pointed out.
The Trump regime has also been cracking down on Indian immigrants and making tougher laws against them, Ramesh said on X.
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”.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala also attacked the government over the issue.
He said September 14 shall be remembered as a day of “digital somersault” and also as a day of “betrayal and surrender” by the BJP government, as it opened the door for imposing a “UPI Transaction Tax” on transactions above Rs 2000, with effect from October 15.
UPI was a defining tool for a cashless, digital and inclusive India, but the Modi government is converting it into a tax imposition and collection machine targeting the common man.
“This is a story of ‘betrayal – backstabbing – double crossing’ of ordinary Indians by the BJP government,” Surjewala said on X.
The government Tuesday announced that a 0.4 per cent fee would be levied on UPI transfers worth more than Rs 2,000 made to merchants from October 15 while explicitly ring-fencing everyday person-to-person transactions as well as small payments from any charge.
“Customers will not be required to pay any charge when making such payments through UPI,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
“MDR is a charge within the merchant payment ecosystem. It is not a charge on customers making UPI payments,” it said.
Also, individuals will continue to have “unlimited free usage, with no monthly quotas, volume restrictions or tiered caps on free UPI transactions”, it said.
The carefully calibrated move signalled the end of an era for the world’s largest real-time payments system.
The move has invited sharp criticism from the opposition parties.
The Congress has termed the government’s move “Modi tax”, with Rahul Gandhi alleging that Prime Minister Modi was “compromised” and “once again surrendering” to American pressure.
The BJP hit back, accusing the Congress of spreading “fake news”, saying the government had made it absolutely clear that MDR charges would not be levied on consumers.
PTI
