Hardeep Singh Puri (PTI image)
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Friday demanded the resignation of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri over his alleged links to the Jeffrey Epstein case, intensifying its attack after the minister acknowledged meeting the disgraced financier several times in a professional capacity.Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the party believes Puri has no right to remain in office.
Speaking to reporters, Khera said, “Clearly, the Congress party is demanding the resignation of Hardeep Singh Puri. This person has no right to remain in his position. In the last 48 hours, he has only lied. We will raise this issue before the people of the country that this government is compromised, and that too with a person like Jeffrey Epstein.”The demand comes after Puri, at a press conference on Wednesday, said that he had met convicted financier Jeffrey Epstein “three or four times” over eight years in what he described as a “professional capacity”.Responding to allegations raised by leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, Puri said that the interactions were limited and already in the public domain following the release of millions of emails by US authorities.At the press conference, he stated, “There are references to possibly three or four meetings in eight years… Any contact I had with him has no connection to the serious allegations of sexual abuse filed by victims.”He further clarified, “My interaction had nothing to do with that,” stressing that the meetings were linked to his tenure as India’s Ambassador to the United Nations and later engagements with the International Peace Institute.Explaining the context, Puri said his former superior at the International Peace Institute, Terje Rod-Larsen, knew Epstein and that he met him as part of official delegations. He maintained that the interactions were entirely professional and predated his entry into the Union Cabinet in 2017.However, the Congress rejected the minister’s explanation. Earlier, Khera raised a series of questions regarding an alleged 2014 email exchange that forms part of documents released by the US Department of Justice. He questioned why Puri referred to Epstein as a “friend” in an email and why he sought “advice” from him if their association was only incidental.In another post, Khera accused Puri of trivialising Epstein’s crimes, writing that reducing the conviction to “soliciting favours of a woman who was underage” downplayed the gravity of sexual exploitation of a minor.The controversy began after Rahul Gandhi claimed he had “verified information” and alleged that “there are Department of Justice files on Epstein naming Hardeep Puri.” Gandhi also alleged broader pressure on the government in the context of international developments, including the India-US trade deal.Puri dismissed Gandhi’s remarks as “baseless allegations” and described parts of his speech in Parliament as having “elements of buffoonery” and “entertainment value”. He insisted that his name appearing in released documents does not imply wrongdoing and that his meetings were unrelated to the criminal charges against Epstein.The exchange has triggered a sharp political confrontation between the ruling BJP and the Congress, with the opposition demanding accountability and the minister defending his record.As the row escalates, the Congress has said it will continue to raise the matter publicly, while the government has maintained that there is no wrongdoing on the part of the minister.
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