visakhapatnam l wednesday l october 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Fee on UPI transactions above `2K postponed till diwali fest In a major relief to UPI users, the decision to levy a Merchant Discount Rate of 0.4 per cent on transactions over `2,000 has been deferred | P12 move follows public backlash timely and pragmatic step: traders The National Payments Corporation of India said on Tuesday that the Merchant Discount Rate on UPI transactions shall be implemented immediately after Diwali on a date to be notified separately. The decision to defer has come amidst protests by the Opposition that termed it a tax, and said the MDR imposition above `2,000 will burden consumers, traders ■ ■ The Confederation of All India Traders said the government’s move to defer the proposed MDR charges on UPI transactions is “timely and pragmatic”, particularly during the crucial festive and wedding season As per NPCI’s circular last month, 0.4 per cent MDR was to be charged on person-to-merchant UPI payments above `2,000 from October 15 `300 is the maximum mdr that can be levied on transactions CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Ladakh integral part of India, MEA rebuts China J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi LoP Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other INDIA leaders address a joint press meet | PARVEEN NEGI ‘Resistance’ Introspect, to continue, don’t blame says Rahul SIR: Shah PR E E THA N AIR @ New Delhi RA J E SH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi A mock impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi Metro train rides by MPs to challenge travel restrictions, and protest programmes at the denotified Jantar Mantar were among the proposals discussed in the meeting of INDIA bloc leaders, civil society representatives, and student representatives on Tuesday . According to sources, the meeting explored ways to keep the protests going and decided to sustain the agitation for the ‘restoration of democracy .’ Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi told the leaders that they could take Wednesday off to visit their constituencies but should be ready to return to the capital at 24 hours’ notice from Thursday, the sources said. The bloc is planning a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds on November 1. Speaking to reporters, Rahul said the protest will continue. He said those responsible for the alleged ‘vote theft’ would be brought to justice, naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and CEC. “No matter what happens, no matter which institution plays a role or not, people’s resistance will continue and it will triumph,” he added. UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to introspect why his party has been losing elections rather than playing negative politics over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In his first public comments on the ongoing protests, Shah said electoral credibility and public confidence can’t be secured through wild allegations and street protests alone. Instead, he said, opposition parties need to demonstrate their acceptance among voters through sustained public engagement and service. “I want to ask Rahul ji: Is this (election defeat) the result of SIR? Do you dismiss the popularity of the BJP and Modi ji? The SIR started only after 2024,” Shah said, adding that the Congress and its allies would face a crushing defeat for the fourth consecutive time in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. Shah cited the BJP’s performance in Gujarat’s civic polls as evidence of the party’s popularity. Lighting into Rahul, Shah said the Congress leader is trying to manufacture political momentum through baseless allegations, insisting that such tactics would not help regain public confidence. TN CM urges AP to release more Telugu Ganga water S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada A bilateral meeting between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay took place in Vijayawada on Tuesday, with discussions centered around inter-state water sharing, re gional cooperation, and the Godavari-Cauvery river interlinking initiative. During their hour-long discussion at Naidu’s camp office, Vijay formally requested the AP government to release additional drinki n g w at e r t o C h e n n a i through the Telugu Ganga Project. In response, Naidu noted that AP has already released 4.08 TMC of water to Chennai this year. He explained that despite reduced Krishna river inflows and seasonal water deficits caused by El Niño impact, the AP government remains prepared, from a humanitarian perspective, to meet drinking water needs based on live storage availability prevail, ing weather conditions, and P4 local requirements.  What the MHA list of Oct 2 covered Reiterating that the Union Territory of Ladakh is an “integral and inalienable part of India,” New Delhi on Tuesday rejected China’s assertion that it has “never recognised” the region. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said “no amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact”. India’s response came amid Beijing’s objection to New Delhi’s decision to standardise the names of 28 geographical locations and features in Ladakh. The strong rebuttal came soon The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the list of 28 locations on October 2, covering a range of geographical features, including 10 peaks, two mountain passes, seven land areas, three mountains, two water bodies, two glaciers, a valley and a river Verbal Abuse AP IAS officer, 3 friends booked at B’luru pub UT of Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India. No amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact Randhir Jaiswal, MEA An Andhra Pradesh-cadre IAS officer and his three friends, who were said to be drunk, allegedly created a ruckus and verbally abused police personnel at an upscale pub on Residency Road between 1 and 1.30 am on Saturday . The IAS officer, Vikas Marmat, is the Project Director of the Kuppam Area Development Authority (KADA). The incident occurred on October 9 when police personnel across the city were inspecting pubs and bars following instructions from Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh. Officers from the Cubbon Park police station and the Central Crime Branch (CCB) visited Cavore pub on Residency Road to check the identity cards of cusP4 tomers.  sponse to a media query . Jaiswal, however, said the exercise was administrative and intended to improve the identification of geographical features on official maps. Referring to an Ministry of Home Affairs announcement, he said the 28 sites were identified with standardised names on the official Survey of India map in consultation with the UT and Reshuffle buzz as MoS L Murugan resigns RA J E SH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru/ Tirupati after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning objected to India’s announcement, reiterating Beijing’s refusal to recognise Ladakh as an UT. “India’s move is illegal and invalid; it cannot alter the objective fact that the western sector of the China-India border has always belonged to China,” Mao said, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s re- local stakeholders. “Identifying these places formally on the Survey of India map of UT of Ladakh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large,” he said. The MHA announced the list on October 2. This is the latest incident in a broader contest between India and China over territorial claims and use of geographical names to assert sovereignty . Beijing has repeatedly issued standardised Chinese names for locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which India has rejected. Back to grassroots In his letter to PM Modi, Murugan said there is a lot more that the party can achieve in Tamil Nadu UNION Minister of State L Murugan resigned from the council of ministers and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, stating he wanted to return to Tamil Nadu to strengthen the BJP’s state unit ahead of the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. The move has fuelled speculation of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle. In a four-page letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Murugan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, re- quested to be relieved of his ministerial duties and allowed to give up his RS seat. “I want to go to every village (in TN), meet our people, stand beside our karyakartas,” he wrote. Recalling his journey as the son of daily wage labourers, he called his five years in government as the “greatest honour” of his life. Murugan was elected to the RS in September 2021 and reelected from Madhya Pradesh in April 2024. His term runs till April 2030. The vacation of his seat set off speculation on who it was meant to accommodate. Murugan is the third MoS to quit in recent months after George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu, who resigned in June and July respectively , . Other possible exits include Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Giriraj Singh and Annapurna Devi. However, there is no official word yet. Those who failed to get an RS berth include Consumer Affairs MoS B L Verma. MoS Pankaj Chaudhary and Harsh Malh o t r a , t o o, a r e h o l d i n g ministerial posts while serving as BJP presidents of UP and Delhi, respectively .