'Needs to grow up': Hardeep Puri hits back at Rahul Gandhi over Epstein mention, calls it 'politics by innuendo'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Needs to grow up': Hardeep Puri hits back at Rahul Gandhi over Epstein mention, calls it 'politics by innuendo'")
Hardeep Singh Puri and Rahul Gandhi Photograph: (ANI)
Hardeep Singh Puri rebuts Rahul Gandhi over Epstein mention in Parliament, calling it immature politics and clarifying limited official interactions
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has strongly criticised Rahul Gandhi for bringing up his name in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein files during a Parliament session, accusing the Congress leader of immaturity and irresponsible politics. Puri said Gandhi engaged in “innuendo-driven politics” and accused him of making insinuations without proper research. He asserted that he had personally clarified the context in which his name appeared in a small number of emails among millions of documents linked to Epstein. As per Puri, had Gandhi examined the explanation carefully, he would not have raised the matter in the House.
Puri dismissed the controversy as a reflection of what he called Gandhi’s lack of seriousness. He argued that Parliament demands informed debate rather than what he described as a “spit-and-fly” style of making allegations without following through. “So, this is not about Epstein. This story is about the lack of maturity and the fact that the Leader of the Opposition, who believes in politics by innuendo and follows a ‘spit and fly’ approach, hasn’t grown up,” Puri was quoted as saying in an interview with India Today.
The minister further said that public representatives should come prepared with facts and allow space for rebuttal, instead of levelling charges and stepping away from discussion. He emphasised that democratic debate thrives on substance, not suggestion. Taking aim at Gandhi’s criticism of the India-US trade agreement, which the Congress leader had labelled a “wholesale surrender”, Puri accused him of being resentful of India’s progress. He said such allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi were baseless and politically motivated.
Puri also echoed remarks made by his colleague Kiren Rijiju, asserting that claims of the Prime Minister compromising national interests were unfounded. He characterised Gandhi’s conduct in Parliament as theatrical rather than constructive. Addressing the Epstein link directly, Puri clarified that his name appears in just two emails out of nearly three million documents made public. He explained that during his tenure as India’s Ambassador to the United States between 2009 and 2017, he met Epstein on four occasions over eight years. These interactions, he said, were connected to his role as Secretary General of the Independent Commission for Multilateralism under the International Peace Institute.
Trending Stories
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
As ambassador, Puri said, he routinely met a wide range of individuals in an official capacity. He claimed that one of the meetings with Epstein occurred unexpectedly as part of a delegation and stressed that he and others distanced themselves once serious concerns about Epstein surfaced. He denied any inappropriate dealings and clarified that an email exchange referenced in media reports related to discussions about investment prospects in India and advice given to LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman regarding the expansion of Indian-language content.
