New Delhi, Feb. 11 (UNI) union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday dismissed as baseless the allegations made by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in connection with the Epstein files, and issued a detailed clarification, saying his name was being wrongly linked to the matter.
Addressing a press conference here, Puri said attempts were being made to create unnecessary controversy. “Making baseless allegations has become Mr. Gandhi’s habit,” he said.
He alleged that there is more of an element of “entertainment” in his political statements.
He added that many documents related to the Epstein files are already in the public domain and that nearly three million emails have been released.
There were “just three or four references out of three million emails,” Puri said. “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 clarified that from May 2009 for eight years, he served as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and became a union minister in 2017.
During this period, he met several global figures at international meetings and events, including three or four meetings with Epstein. He said that shortly after retiring from the foreign service, he was invited to be associated with the International Peace Institute (IPI), though he was not a regular member of the organisation.
His meetings with Epstein took place during IPI events or as part of delegations, and were merely part of international issue-related engagements. The minister said his primary contact at the time was LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and that he had invited the internet entrepreneur to visit India.
He added that he had “no interest” in Epstein’s activities and that Epstein had described him as “two-faced” in correspondence.
“For them, I was not the right person,” Puri said, urging Gandhi 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. Advising Gandhi to base his politics on facts, he said it was the responsibility of all public representatives to place accurate information before the country.
“There are two kinds of leaders in the country,” Puri said. “One like Mr. Gandhi, and the others who take responsibility in the political system and dedicate their lives to public service and transforming the country.”
He added that such leadership was the reason India was moving towards becoming the world’s third-largest economy.
