New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday totntce again targeted the BJP-led gocernment at the centre alleging that Union minister Hardeep Puri was blatantly lying about his association with the convicted sex predator Jeffery Epstein and asked him to explain in what capacity, and at whose behest, he held 14 meetings with him.
The Congress also pointed out that Puri started meeting Epstein soon after Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of the country in May 2014 and criticised the government for spreading confusion through anonymous ‘sources’ about tainted billionaire Bill Gates’ participation in the ongoing AI Summit, in view of his controversial association with Epstein.
Addressing a press conference here, party spokesperson and Chairman of the Media and Publicity Department Pawan Khera stated that the government of India seemed reluctant to state openly whether the invitation to Gates had been withdrawn in view of his association with Epstein, noting that even this information was being attributed to anonymous sources.
Observing that Gates himself has said he will attend the AI summit and deliver a speech, Khera asked who these government sources were and why the Prime Minister had not spoken on the issue. He questioned whom the government was afraid of and why.
Reiterating his party’s demand thatt Puri resign and explain why he was sharing govt policies with Epstein despite not holding an official position at that time, Khera said that Puri had met Jeffery Epstein 14 times and the two had exchanged 62 emails between them. “Isn’t it a crime to have a relationship with a convicted sex offender?” he asked.
Giving details of the interactions between Puri and Epstein, Khera pointed out, these started soon after Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of the country in May 2014.
Khera noted that while Modi took oath in May 2014, the series of meetings between Puri and Epstein started in the first week of June.
“Whom was Puri representing while meeting Epstein?” Khera asked, wondering whether he had been authorised by the government to hold such interactions when he was not a Union Minister.
The Congress leader cited specific dates in June, September and October 2014, pointing to multiple meetings and lunches between Puri and Epstein.
He even said the emails suggested follow-up briefings and coordination involving entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, and highlighted contradictions in Puri’s public statements describing his association with Epstein as limited and a “mistake in hindsight”.
Khera asserted that the minister was “lying openly” and questioned whether he was attempting to protect someone.
He further asked why the interactions commenced after Modi assumed office and whether senior officials were bypassed while authorising him to hold negotiations on behalf of the govt.
“Hardeep Puri, our petroleum minister, is a pathological liar. He is lying openly. And we say with confidence that he is a liar”, Khera alleged.
The Congress leader raised questions about policy discussions, trade negotiations and foreign engagements during 2017–2019, suggesting larger implications for governance and foreign policy.
Referring to Puri’s claims that he met Epstein as a private citizen, Khera asked, doesn’t he owe an explanation as to why he was holding discussions on policies with Epstein.
Suggesting that Epstein had started interfering in the functioning of the government and distribution of portfolios, he referred to Dr Harshvardhan getting the Information Technology ministry out of blue and corresponding with the period when he interacted with Epstein.
He also cited an email from Epstein to Hoffman stating, “Reid, Hardeep is your man in India”. He asked how did Epstein develop so much confidence?
He asked the Prime Minister in what capacity Puri was representing the government when he was not a part of it at that time. “What sort of foreign policy were you running as you were sidelining your own officers and deputing a private person for that job?” he asked the Prime Minister.
Khera posed a series of questions to Puri, asking him, “Whom are you trying to protect? What were you discussing with Epstein? Whom were you representing? What are you hiding from the people of India? Why is it so that the process of meetings started after Modi became the PM?”
ENDS