Government functionary questions Rahul's criticism of UPI charges, says Congress MPs in panel gave nod
The Indian government is defending its decision to levy fees on high-value UPI transactions by citing support from a parliamentary committee that included Congress members. Rahul Gandhi has criticized the move, leading to a political dispute over the policy's origins.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of digital payment infrastructure, government revenue models, and partisan political accountability in India.
The government on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) questioned the rationale behind Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the decision to levy a fee on UPI payments to merchants above ₹2,000 , saying a parliamentary standing committee had backed such a move and Congress members of the panel had supported it.
A senior government functionary said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had pressed for a tiered Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)/ revenue framework for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and noted that it should be notified and operationalised without delay.
Five Congress MPs including P Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal and K Gopinath were present on August 12 when the report was adopted, with no dissent recorded in the published minutes, the functionary said.
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