BENGALURU: AICC General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala and General Secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal on Wednesday slammed the Modi government over the proposed imposition of transaction charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions.
While Surjewala warned that any additional levy would ultimately burden consumers and small traders, Venugopal compared the move to “pickpocketing people”.
Both the Congress leaders were in Bengaluru, holding a series of meetings at the KPCC office to discuss the party’s organisation in the state.
Surjewala cited official figures to highlight the growing scale of UPI transactions. He said UPI recorded 24,162 crore transactions worth Rs 314 lakh crore during 2025-26 and the transaction value is expected to cross Rs 400 lakh crore in 2026-27.
He pointed out that Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions above Rs 2,000 could face a significant financial burden if the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is imposed. Such costs, he argued, would eventually be passed on to consumers through higher prices.
Surjewala also questioned changes to provisions relating to transaction charges, particularly Section 10A, saying that the amendments could allow the government to revise or increase charges through notifications without placing before parliament.
The Congress leader questioned the need for additional charges to finance the UPI ecosystem, claiming that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is financially sound and has substantial cash reserves.
He cited a pre-tax profit of around Rs 1,900 crore and questioned why additional costs should be imposed on users when banks and other institutions already generate substantial fee income.
Meanwhile, Venugopal said, “On one side they are telling digital, digital, digital... everything has become digital. Now a new Modi tax is already being enforced in the country through this UPI... that is a new Modi tax. That tax has come because of Modi’s surrender to the US.”
Entire country must fight: CM
Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the entire country must wage a struggle against the Central government’s decision to impose a tax on UPI transactions. “This is not merely an issue concerning the Congress; it is a problem affecting the entire nation. As the opposition party, the Congress will fight to safeguard the interests of the common people,” he said.