Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre’s new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, accusing the government of yielding to pressure from the United States and urging Modi to “have a spine”.In a video posted on X, Rahul referred to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while drawing a comparison with PM Modi over the new UPI measures.“Indiraji was once asked whether she leans left or right, and her response was, ‘I don’t lean left or right. I stand straight’,” Gandhi said. He then turned to the UPI framework, alleging that Modi had adopted a different approach.“Modiji has a completely diff concept, he’s neither left or right he has decided to completely lie down straight and in front of Donald Trump. He’s put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving huge amount op money to the United States,” the former Congress president added.He said, “Modiji, please stop lying down in front of the US. Have a spine, stand up and withdraw the UPI tax. Thank you.”Earlier, the Congress has described the new MDR as a “Modi tax” and alleged that the decision was linked to pressure from the US. The party has also criticised the government’s handling of the policy, calling it another example of what general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh termed a “FAST (First Announce, Subsequently Think) move”.Ramesh earlier questioned the timing of the decision, saying, “Decision Making in Modi Govt — Aug 6: Hon’ble Finance Minister says ‘no decision has been taken on MDR’. Aug 10: FM in Parliament says ‘No MDR framework has yet been finalised’. Sep 14: Notification is issued. Within 24 hrs, MDR charges introduced.”The finance ministry said MDR would apply only to specified merchant transactions above Rs 2,000, while person-to-person UPI payments would remain free. Around 96 per cent of person-to-merchant transactions will remain unaffected, it said.Under the framework, a 0.4 per cent MDR will apply to specified merchant payments above Rs 2,000 from October 15, capped at Rs 300 for transactions of Rs 75,000 and above. The charge is payable within the merchant-payment ecosystem, not by consumers.

A flat Rs 5 charge will apply to utility bill payments, fuel purchases, insurance premiums, railway tickets and several government services.The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has said the revenue will support infrastructure resilience, cybersecurity, fraud prevention, innovation and customer service. UPI processed 24,508.96 million transactions worth nearly Rs 29.82 lakh crore in August 2026, according to NPCI data.The new framework is set to take effect from October 15, putting the focus on how merchants, banks and payment platforms absorb the revised costs and whether the change affects pricing or the wider adoption of digital payments.