Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday hit back at senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh over his criticism of the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, saying he should refrain from "spreading a canard" about the proposed changes related to UPI transactions.

Responding to Ramesh's allegations, FM Sitharaman clarified that Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) applies only to merchants and not to end users or customers.