Rahul Gandhi said Modi had “put a tax on every single Indian” and urged him to “have a spine” and withdraw the charge. Critics warn merchants may pass the cost on to consumers.
BY PC Bureau
September 16: Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “surrendering” to the United States and demanded an immediate rollback of what he called a “UPI tax” on merchant payments.
The Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha was responding to a new government framework that imposes a 0.4 per cent merchant discount rate (MDR) on specified UPI merchant transactions above ₹2,000. The fee is capped at ₹300 for payments of ₹75,000 and above. The Centre has said customers will not be charged MDR directly.
In a video posted on X with the caption “Modi ji, roll back the UPI tax. Now”, Gandhi said the Prime Minister had “put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving huge amounts of money to the United States”
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STORY | PM has decided to prostrate before Trump: Rahul on ‘UPI tax’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to “prostrate” before US President Donald Trump and give a huge amount of money to America, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Wednesday and demanded a rollback of… pic.twitter.com/b8WQqn2mFN
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 16, 2026
.The remarks come amid a political clash over the policy. The government maintains that MDR is a charge within the merchant payment system, not a levy on users, and that person-to-person transfers will remain free. Critics argue that shopkeepers may pass the extra cost on to consumers through higher prices.
Comparing Modi with Indira Gandhi, Rahul said she had once declared she stood “straight” rather than leaning left or right. “Modiji is completely different,” he said. “He is neither left nor right. He has decided to lie down straight and prostrate himself in front of Donald Trump.”He asked the Prime Minister to “stop lying down in front of the United States”, “have a spine”, and withdraw the UPI charge.
