New Delhi: A purported photograph showing Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has triggered a fresh political storm, with opposition leaders demanding answers about the nature and purpose of their meeting. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut led the attack on Wednesday, suggesting that the episode could have wider political consequences, ANI reported.
Raut, in a post on X, directly questioned whether Puri had met Epstein alone and whom he may have represented during the alleged interaction. He also invoked the RSS and spoke of an impending “regime change.”
“Modiji, one minister Hardeep Puri is meeting Jeffrey Epstein alone? Whose message is he carrying in the meeting? This is the beginning, Watch ahead to see what’s about to happen? @RSSorg regime change will happen! Jai Hind!” Raut wrote.
‘Much More Yet To Come’
Addressing reporters later, the Sena (UBT) leader said the controversy was no longer confined to social media and claimed that newly released Epstein-related material had contradicted Puri’s earlier account. He alleged that images showed the minister and Epstein together, and sought to know whether the meeting involved a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We haven’t just tweeted about this; the matter is being discussed across the entire country. The Epstein files have now been made public. Union Minister Hardeep Puri, a member of the Modi cabinet, had claimed that he never even met Epstein — certainly never in private. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has exposed the truth. Photographs have emerged showing him partying with Epstein; the images also show glasses and other items placed in front of them. What does this actually mean? Why did he meet with Epstein? Whose message was he carrying? Was it a message from Modi ji? You tell me. And such an individual is a minister in Modi ji’s government. This is only the beginning; much more is yet to come to light. Just stay tuned,” Raut said.
Congress leader Srinivas BV added a separate angle to the attack, linking the timing of the image’s circulation to the US Secretary of State’s visit to Mumbai and ongoing India-US trade discussions.
“Yesterday, the US Secretary of State landed in ‘Mumbai’, and right at that very moment, pictures of Hardeep “Epstein” Puri emerged from the US Justice Department’s files, Could there be some VIDEO coming out too to settle the technicalities of the US Trade Deal…?” Srinivas said in his X post.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist Abhijeet Dipke also circulated the purported image, questioning whether it contradicted Puri’s earlier denial of a personal meeting with Epstein.
“Didn’t Puri claim that he never had a personal meeting with Epstein?” Dipke asked on X.
What Puri Had Said
The latest row has brought back into focus Puri’s February rebuttal to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations concerning the Epstein files. The Union minister had then called the charges baseless and maintained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had no link to them.
Puri had also detailed his contact with Epstein, saying they met four times over nine years and insisting that the encounters occurred in a professional capacity. He linked them to his work with the International Peace Institute (IPI), which was involved in assessing the United Nations’ effectiveness ahead of its 75th anniversary.
“He told me your name is in interesting places. I had sent him a note clarifying that between 2009, when I went to New York, and 2017, I met Epstein a total of 4 times. Four times in 9 years, I was a member of the IPI appointed to see if the UN is fit for purpose on its 75th anniversary. I had no independent meetings with Epstein. The allegations against Epstein are about sexual favour, they are about paedophilia, about other wrongdoings…I have nothing to do with that,” Puri had said.
Puri has not issued a fresh response to the latest controversy.