NEW DELHI,11 Feb 2026 : Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hit back at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Wednesday over mention of his name in the Epstein Files, clarifying he only met the late and disgraced American financier “on a few occasions (and) as part of a delegation” and only exchanged one email with him.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hit back at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi Wednesday over mention of his name in the Epstein Files, clarifying he only met the late and disgraced American financier “on a few occasions (and) as part of a delegation” and only exchanged one email with him.
Puri told reporters Wednesday afternoon, hours after Gandhi’s explosive allegations in a parliamentary speech, that his interactions with Jeffrey Epstein “had nothing to do with charges against him…”
The minister said his primary interaction at that time was with LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, and that he had invited the internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist to India.
“Just three-four references (to his name) out of three million emails… 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),” Puri said, “We talked about ‘Make in India’.”
“I had no interest in Epstein’s activities. For them, I was not the ‘right person’,” he also said, adding that Epstein had called him “two-faced” and that Rahul Gandhi should read the emails.
Puri’s strong response was after Rahul Gandhi, speaking to reporters outside parliament, referred to US files on Epstein that had mentioned Hardeep Puri and businessman Anil Ambani.
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