Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pressed for a rollback of the Centre's decision to levy a fee on UPI payments, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to 'prostrate' before US President Donald Trump and give a huge amount of money to America.
"Have a spine, stand up and roll back the UPI tax," he stated in a video posted on X. He also urged Modi not to lie down in front of the US.
The government on Tuesday introduced a 0.4 per cent fee on transfers worth more than Rs 2,000 made to merchants through UPI from October 15, while explicitly ring-fencing everyday person-to-person transactions as well as small payments from any charge.
Gandhi said, "(Former prime minister) Indira (Gandhi) ji was once asked whether she leans left or right, and her response was ', I don't lean left, I don't lean right, I stand straight'.
"Modi ji has a completely different concept; he is neither left nor right. He has decided to lie down straight and prostrate himself in front of Donald Trump."
"He (Modi) has put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving a huge amount of money to the United States," Gandhi said in the video.
"Modi ji, roll back the UPI tax. Now," he said.
The Congress has accused the government of giving in to a US demand to get rid of zero MDR (merchant discount rate) and charge for UPI, and said the prime minister has "redefined NOTA - Narendra's Ongoing Trump Appeasement".