Chandigarh, September 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday held protests in Jalandhar and Sujanpur in Pathankot district against the Centre’s new Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for select UPI merchant transactions, with party workers raising slogans and burning an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The protests came after the new UPI framework was announced for implementation from October 15. Under the framework, a 0.4 per cent MDR will apply to specified person-to-merchant UPI transactions above ₹2,000, while payments up to ₹2,000 and person-to-person transactions will remain free. The Union Government has said about 96 per cent of merchant transactions will remain unaffected and that the MDR is paid within the payment ecosystem rather than collected as a government tax.
A major protest was organised at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk in Jalandhar under the leadership of senior AAP Punjab leader Pawan Kumar Tinu. Addressing party workers, Tinu criticised the new charges and said they would place an additional financial burden on traders, students and ordinary citizens.
Tinu alleged that the Centre had first encouraged people and businesses to shift towards digital payments and was now introducing charges on certain merchant transactions after UPI had become an integral part of everyday commerce.
He demanded withdrawal of the new MDR framework and said AAP would take up the issue across Punjab and in Delhi if the Centre did not reconsider the decision.
AAP leaders at the protests said people were already facing the impact of inflation and claimed that additional transaction-related costs could add to the financial pressure on families and businesses. Their concerns primarily relate to the potential impact of merchant charges on business costs, although the Centre has clarified that consumers will not be directly charged for making UPI payments.
The party leaders also criticised the BJP over its campaign against drugs in Punjab. They alleged that the previous Akali-BJP government was responsible for the state’s drug problem and claimed that the present AAP government had taken action against drug peddlers and dismantled drug networks.
AAP leaders said the party would continue raising issues that it considers to affect traders, students and other sections of the public.
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