Congress opposed UPI charges despite backing parliamentary panel recommendation: government

A political row over UPI payment charges has intensified in the Lok Sabha, with opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties demanding the withdrawal of the order. The government countered that the policy Congress now opposes was recommended by Parliament's standing committee on finance in its own report, adopted without dissent by senior Congress and opposition leaders.

When the committee approved its report on August 12, 2026, senior Congress MPs including P. Chidambaram, Manish Tiwari, and Gaurav Gogoi were present. The committee had recommended a tier-based revenue model for the UPI ecosystem, including a merchant discount rate (MDR) framework for high-value transactions.

The government questioned why opposition MPs raised no objections then but are now opposing the implementation. Congress maintains that while charges apply to merchants, the ultimate burden falls on consumers through inflation.