Debate With Arnab: 5 Congress MPs Agreed On UPI Tax, Hypocrisy Exposed!

Debate With Arnab LIVE: A major political row has erupted over the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select high-value UPI merchant payments. Government sources say five Congress MPs were present when the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance adopted a report recommending a tiered UPI revenue/MDR framework—and that no dissent was recorded in the published minutes.

The five MPs named by government sources are P. Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal and K. Gopinath. The panel’s report, chaired by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, argued for a viable and tiered UPI revenue mechanism to support the payments ecosystem’s long-term sustainability.

Congress leaders Gaurav Gogoi and Manish Tewari deny backing the recently announced UPI fee, saying no specific proposal detailing the MDR rate, scope, exemptions or slabs was presented to the committee. The proposed 0.4% MDR is set to apply from October 15 to person-to-merchant UPI payments above ₹2,000, while person-to-person transfers and merchant payments up to ₹2,000 remain outside the charge.