New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders are opposing the Centre’s proposed UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). Yet, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which included Congress leaders P. Chidambaram and Manish Tewari, had recommended a “self-reliant, tiered revenue model” for UPI.
The same committee said a viable revenue mechanism was essential to make UPI financially sustainable without “perpetually straining the Government exchequer”. Congress MPs were part of the panel when the report was adopted, but the party is now opposing the Government’s move to introduce MDR.
The committee noted that the Government had allocated Rs 2,000 crore for 2026–27 to offset the costs of the zero-MDR system. It said the incentive covered only 11% of the industry’s actual costs and 14% of potential MDR collections, creating a structural funding gap.
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress ecosystem screaming “US pressure” over UPI MDR is nothing but pure comedy.
Rahul Gandhi’s own party leaders, including former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Manish Tewari, literally sat on the Parliamentary Finance Committee and recommended… pic.twitter.com/ZqmvGmTt7I— Mr Sinha (@Mrsinha) September 17, 2026
The panel therefore recommended that the Department of Financial Services “concurrently explore a self-reliant, tiered revenue model” for UPI.
The committee included P. Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Gaurav Gogoi, Kishori Lal and K. Gopinath among its Congress members. Government sources have said the Congress MPs were present when the report was adopted and no dissent was recorded.
Rahul Gandhi has now opposed the MDR proposal and demanded its rollback. Congress MPs, however, argue that the committee never approved the specific MDR rate or structure now being implemented.
That distinction is clear. The committee recommend the idea of a tiered revenue model for UPI.
The contrast is therefore difficult to miss: Congress leaders are opposing the Government’s specific MDR framework today, while their own parliamentary committee had called for a sustainable revenue mechanism for UPI.
The Government’s framework also keeps UPI payments up to Rs 2,000 free, along with RuPay debit card transactions.
