Congress leader Pawan Khera
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Congress on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) accused Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri of “lying” on the controversy surrounding the ‘Epstein files’ and asked him to explain the “62 email exchanges” with convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2014 and 2017.
The party reiterated its demand for the Minister’s resignation.
Mr. Puri has denied the Congress’s allegations and said he had met Epstein on “a few occasions”, and that the meetings were “professional” in nature.
Addressing a press conference, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera claimed that there were nine meetings alone in 2014 and 14 in all between 2014 and 2017. “Between 2014 and 2017, there were 62 email exchanges between Hardeep Puri and Epstein. Apart from that, what was discussed in the meetings on June 5, 6, 8, and 9; September 19, 23, and 24; and October 9 and 10 in 2014?” Mr. Khera asked.
He claimed that Mr. Puri sent 32 emails while Epstein wrote 30 and that the meetings took place soon after the Narendra Modi government assumed office in 2014 and continued till 2017.
“The question is what position did Hardeep Puri hold in June 2014, and in what capacity did he meet Epstein?” Mr. Khera asked.
Referring to a recent interview of the Minister, Mr. Khera alleged that he had told “many lies”. “Why was Hardeep Puri sharing government policies with Epstein in his capacity as a private citizen? He should first resign and then clarify this matter,” Mr. Khera said, adding that the Minister had “proven himself wrong by telling one lie after another”.
Mr. Khera also took a swipe at the Centre over Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’s scheduled participation at the ongoing AI Impact Summit in Delhi, alleging contradictory claims by government sources.
“Government sources are saying – Bill Gates will not come to the AI Summit, while Bill Gates himself is saying that I will come to the summit and deliver a speech,” Mr. Khera said.
While Mr. Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims, records released by the U.S. Justice Department include an allegation by Epstein that Microsoft co-founder had caught a sexually transmitted disease.
Mr. Gates’ spokesperson had termed the claim “absolutely absurd”.
Published – February 17, 2026 09:52 pm IST
