Congress Leaders Blast Modi Over Proposed UPI Transaction Fee, Accuse Prime Minister of Bowing to Trump

On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha leader of the opposition, unleashed a scathing tirade against the Centre after news broke that a modest 0.4 percent levy might be slapped on UPI transactions. In a video posted on X, Gandhi compared the Prime Minister’s stance to a helpless figure prostrating before President Donald Trump.

“Indira ji once said she didn’t lean left or right – she simply stood straight,” Gandhi quoted, before adding, “Modi ji seems to have taken a very different approach. He’s lying flat, bowing to the United States, and imposing a tax on every Indian who uses digital payments.” He urged the prime minister to “have a spine, stand up and roll back the UPI tax.”

The Congress stalwart wasn’t alone. Party General Secretary KC Venugopal echoed the sentiment, calling the proposed fee a “new Modi tax” that, in his words, was born out of the Prime Minister’s “surrendering attitude” toward Washington.

“Every day ordinary people feel the pinch,” Venugopal said, lamenting that the tax would “punish the common man” while funneling money to the United States.

Even Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge weighed in, painting a broader picture of what he described as a pattern of capitulation. He highlighted recent U.S. threats of steep tariffs, disputes over agricultural market access, and now the push to dismantle the zero‑MDR regime for UPI payments.

“Your dear friend ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’ dictates, you capitulate, and 140 crore Indians bear the fallout,” Kharge wrote on X, adding that the move to allow foreign card networks into the Indian digital payments space was yet another “sign of meekness.”

According to the opposition, the proposed fee is not about revenue generation but about aligning India’s payment infrastructure with American interests – a claim they say undermines national sovereignty and hurts everyday users.

The controversy comes as the government, citing rising costs for banks and payment processors, argues that a small percentage fee is needed to sustain the ecosystem. Yet Congress leaders remain unconvinced, insisting the move is a political surrender rather than a fiscal necessity.

While the debate rages in parliament and on social media, the ultimate fate of the so‑called “UPI tax” hangs in the balance, waiting for a decision that could shape India’s digital payment landscape for years to come.