Surjewala Criticises UPI Charges and Defends Karnataka Congress Leaders

Congress leader and Karnataka in charge Randeep Singh Surjewala has criticised the newly announced UPI Merchant Discount Rate, arguing that the charges could eventually increase the financial burden associated with digital payments.

Speaking in Bengaluru, Surjewala accused the central government of turning UPI into a revenue generating system and questioned the impact of the new framework on ordinary users and small businesses. His comments came after the National Payments Corporation of India announced that a 0.4 percent MDR will apply to specified merchant transactions above Rs 2,000 from October 15.

The government has clarified that the MDR is a merchant side charge rather than a tax imposed on consumers. Person to person UPI transfers will remain free regardless of the amount, while payments to merchants up to Rs 2,000 will also remain free. The government has also said customers cannot be charged the MDR separately.

Surjewala nevertheless argued that the new arrangement could eventually affect consumers and small traders if the cost of accepting digital payments gets passed through the wider market. He also questioned the governments decision to introduce charges after UPI became one of the countrys most widely used digital payment systems.

The Congress leader also spoke about the political controversy surrounding Enforcement Directorate action against several Karnataka Congress leaders. He alleged that Satish Jarkiholi had been targeted because of his position as a leader from the Scheduled Tribe community.

Surjewala referred to investigations involving several Congress leaders and said the party would not bow before central agencies. He also alleged that investigative agencies were being used selectively against opposition politicians.

These are political allegations made by Surjewala and represent the Congress position. The claims about the motives behind individual investigations are disputed and should not be treated as established facts.

He also referred to cases involving other political leaders and questioned why similar scrutiny was not being discussed in relation to leaders from other parties. Surjewala maintained that Congress leaders would continue to stand with Satish Jarkiholi.

The Congress leader also responded to the controversy over the singing of Vande Mataram in Karnataka government programmes. He said the state government was following central guidelines and had not prohibited the song.

According to Surjewala, two stanzas are being sung under the current arrangement, while the complete song is performed when the President, Governor or Prime Minister attends an event. He rejected the suggestion that the government had directed people not to sing Vande Mataram.

Another issue addressed by Surjewala was the absence of women legislators from the Karnataka Cabinet. He accepted responsibility for the situation and said the absence of a woman minister was not the fault of the Congress high command.

Surjewala said he had been unable to finalise a suitable candidate because there were multiple aspirants for the position. He added that the party remained committed to women empowerment and that a decision on giving a woman legislator a ministerial position would be taken soon.

The issue has attracted attention because the current Karnataka Cabinet does not have a woman minister, despite Congress having made womens representation and welfare an important part of its political agenda.

Surjewala also criticised former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy over his comments on the matter, referring to his earlier role as Women and Child Development Minister in a coalition government.

His remarks in Bengaluru therefore covered several issues, ranging from the newly announced UPI payment framework to central agency investigations, Vande Mataram and representation of women in the Karnataka Cabinet.