Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with BJP National Spokesperson Sardar R.P. Singh, addressing at a press conference at BJP HQ in New Delhi on February 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Accusing Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of making “unsubstantiated allegations” against Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri without giving prior notice, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) said the ruling alliance members will file a notice against Mr. Gandhi for “breach of privilege”.
“We will file the necessary notice with the Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition did not make any useful substantive contribution to the Budget discussion but only made some wild allegations,” Mr. Rijiju said, soon after Mr. Gandhi’s speech got over.
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister said the notice will be placed before the Chair seeking authentication of the LoP’s assertions. While Mr. Gandhi promised to authenticate what he had spoken, Mr. Rijiju said, “I know he cannot authenticate them because he lied. He lied in the House.”
‘Two-faced’
Addressing a press conference later at the BJP headquarters, Mr. Puri said he took over as India’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York in 2009 and remained there for eight years. “There are references to possibly three or four meetings (with Jeffrey Epstein) in eight years,” he said, adding that during that time he was a member of the International Peace Institute (IPI).
“I was Secretary-General of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM)… the chair of this commission was a former Prime Minister of Australia. My boss at IPI, Terje Rød-Larsen, was someone who knew the infamous Epstein. As part of an IPI and ICM delegation, I met Epstein on a few occasions – three or at most four times,” he said.
About an email dated November 13, 2014, released as part of the Epstein Files, Mr. Puri said it was exchanged as his contacts introduced him to Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn. Then, as a private citizen, he wrote to Mr. Hoffman about the immense opportunities India presented in the internet-based economic activity.
Also read: BJP, Congress spar after Jeffrey Epstein mails refer to invitation to Hardeep Puri
“Newly elected Prime Minister Modi’s focus to revive the Indian economy includes an audaciously ambitious plan to expand rural internet coverage to 25,000 villages by 2017 from the existing 1,130…another major focus of the Modi government is the Make in India campaign,” he said, referring to the email.
Stressing that his interaction was minimal, he quoted an email exchange between Larsen and Jeffrey Epstein dated December 25, 2015, in which Epstein referred to Mr. Puri as “two-faced”. “What does it mean? The man (being referred to) is not okay…,” said Mr. Puri. In that email exchange, Larsen had written to Epstein: “Have you heard the saying: when you meet an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian first!”
The Union Minister said, “Rahul ji should have read this. When Priyanka ji and others spoke about my name in the Epstein Files, thousands of memes were made. People said big world leaders were caught up in this. Meanwhile, I was talking about Digital India and my country, Bharat. So, I want to thank them for mentioning my name.”
“The Epstein files are about wrongdoing and criminal offences. They contain charges that he had an island where he took people to indulge their sexual fantasies, including charges of paedophilia, and there are victims. Those victims have brought cases against people in authority. My interaction had nothing to do with that,” added Mr. Puri.
The Union Minister alleged that in the Central Hall of the old Parliament building on November 26, 2025, when Mr. Gandhi had “winked” at him, saying his name was in “interesting places”, he had sent to the Congress leader a note sharing all the details.
Published – February 11, 2026 09:26 pm IST
