Bengaluru, 16 September

The Congress on Wednesday slammed the BJP after the Centre moved to impose a 0.4 per cent fee UPI payments above Rs 2,000, with protesters holding signs saying “PayPM” outside the AICC office in Bengaluru. 

At a press conference along with party leaders KC Venugopal and Siddaramaiah, AICC General Secretary and Karnataka-in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said  that the Centre had opened the door by imposing the 0.4 per cent charge on person-to-merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. 

Alleging that the Modi government had “betrayed” the ordinary Indian, Surjewala noted that “UPI was a defining tool for a cashless, digital, and inclusive India”, but it is now becoming a “tax imposition and collection machine”.

He said that the 0.4 per cent fee will impact transactions totalling Rs 5,040 crores in 2026-27, he said that the burden will first fall on traders, and then the common man. 

Further, he alleged that the BJP had capitulated its interests to American companies. 

“80 per cent of UPI transactions (totalling Rs 320 lakh crore) are processed through two American companies, PhonePe and GooglePay,” Surjewala added. “This also means that they will get a share in the pie”.

He further said that the Modi government has given these American companies data on Indian consumer patterns. 

Venugopal also dubbed it the “Modi tax”.

SIR

AICC General Secretary Venugopal said that the Congress was "very vigilant" against alleged malpractices during the SIR of electoral rolls underway in Karnataka.

“The number of votes being deleted in Karnataka is somewhat surprising; around 23 per cent of total voters have been deleted from the voter list," Venugopal said. He said he would have no problem if the deletions were genuine, but the actions of the Election Commission over the last three years suggested otherwise.