Congress questions BJP's ‘Aashirwad Ka Diya’ appeal

Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Alok Kumar Dubey on Wednesday questioned the BJP’s appeal to people to light an ‘Aashirwad Ka Diya’ on September 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, saying the government should first address public concerns over inflation, employment, healthcare and the cost of digital transactions.

Dubey said lighting a lamp was a matter of personal choice, but people would also use the occasion to raise questions about economic pressures and the impact of government policies on their daily lives.

BJP state president Nitin Nabin has appealed to people to light an ‘Aashirwad Ka Diya’ at their homes on the evening of September 17.

Raising the issue of the proposed Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on certain UPI transactions, Dubey claimed that a 0.4 per cent MDR would apply from October 15 to eligible merchant transactions above Rs 2,000. The government and NPCI have said the proposed charge would be borne by merchants and would not be directly passed on to customers.

Dubey, however, questioned the possible impact of higher transaction costs on small and large businesses and asked the government to explain how the new arrangement could affect the wider market.

He also cited the scale of UPI transactions, saying the platform recorded around 24.51 billion transactions worth nearly Rs 29.82 lakh crore in August 2026. He questioned how any additional revenue generated under the proposed arrangement would be distributed among banks, payment service providers and other stakeholders.

Referring to reports about the proposed MDR and the payment industry, Dubey also raised questions about the potential implications for consumers and small merchants.

He further criticised the government over healthcare issues, citing the deaths of children allegedly linked to contaminated cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh last year and an incident involving newborns being bitten by rats at Maharaja Yashwantrao Hospital in Indore. Hospital authorities had attributed the death of one newborn to a serious congenital condition, while disciplinary action was taken against employees following the rat-bite incident.

Dubey said people wanted better healthcare facilities, employment opportunities, relief from inflation and greater accountability in public institutions rather than what he described as politics centred on celebrations and publicity.

“If the BJP is seeking the people's blessings on September 17, the people also have the democratic right to ask questions of the government,” he said.

“Democracy is strengthened not merely by lighting lamps but by listening to the voice of the people. If the government seeks the people's blessings, it must also listen to their questions,” Dubey added.