Puri refutes Rahul’s Epstein allegations

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday issued a detailed clarification on Opposition allegations linking him to the Epstein Files, saying his name was being wrongly dragged into the matter.Puri claimed that he had met the American financier Jeffrey Epstein “three or four times” in a professional capacity as part of a delegation, and exchanged one email with him. The minister also clarified that his interactions with Epstein were as part of an International Peace Institute (IPI) delegation.

“Three million emails have been released, covering the period from May 2009, when I joined as India’s Ambassador to the UN in New York, until I became a minister in 2017,” he said. During this period, there are references to only three or four meetings, and my interactions were entirely professional, related to the Independent Commission on Multilateralism and other international work. I met Epstein on a few occasions as part of a delegation and exchanged just one email. Our interactions had nothing to do (with the crimes he is accused of). We talked about ‘Make in India’,” Puri stated.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had claimed in the Lok Sabha that Puri’s name appeared in records connected to Epstein. “Making baseless allegations has become MrGandhi’s habit,” the minister said.

Reacting to Rahul’s speech, Puri clarified that the meetings took place before he joined the Union Cabinet in 2017 and are already in the public domain.

Epstein, who died in 2019, was charged for child sexual abuse, human trafficking and rape. The Epstein Files are a cache of emails, documents, videos and images detailing the criminal activities of the financier and his social circle involving public figures, politicians and celebrities.

Puri added that he had no interest in Epstein’s activities and that the latter had described him as “two-faced” in correspondence. “For them, I was not the right person,” Puri said, urging Rahul  to read the emails in full. He also stated that he had no connection whatsoever with Epstein’s island. Puri said presenting these meetings out of context was inappropriate and an attempt to mislead the public.