New Delhi: Hours after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi raised the difficulty of Hardeep Singh Puri’s title figuring within the Epstein recordsdata, the Union minister mentioned in a press convention Wednesday that that they had ‘minimal interplay’ and solely as a part of a delegation.

Stating he met Epstein “three or 4 instances” over a interval of eight years, Puri mentioned all of this was as a part of an official delegation linked to the Worldwide Peace Institute (IPI), and that the interactions between them “had nothing to do with prices in opposition to” Epstein.

Stressing that his conferences with Epstein had been restricted and strictly inside the framework of institutional interactions, Puri accused Gandhi of constructing baseless allegations. He maintained they met solely three to 4 instances and solely exchanged one electronic mail.

Talking exterior Parliament earlier within the day, Gandhi had urged that the “stress” on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to comply with an India-US interim commerce deal might be linked to “US Division of Justice recordsdata on Epstein naming Hardeep Puri and Anil Ambani”.

Puri mentioned within the press convention that his title was talked about throughout the ongoing Finances session of Parliament within the context of some developments elsewhere. Referring to the Epstein recordsdata launched by the US Division of Justice (DoJ) in tranches, he mentioned, three million emails have been launched, masking the interval from Could 2009, when Puri joined as India’s Ambassador to the UN in New York, till he turned a minister in 2017.

“Throughout this era, there are references to solely three or 4 conferences, and my interactions had been completely skilled,” Hardeep Puri mentioned. “Simply three-four references out of three million emails…I met Epstein on a number of events as a part of a delegation (and) exchanged only one electronic mail.”

“Our interactions had nothing to do (with the crimes he’s accused of),” he mentioned, including that they talked about ‘Make in India’.

Puri additionally mentioned, “I used to be invited to hitch the Worldwide Peace Institute…My interactions [with Epstein] had been skilled and associated to the Unbiased Fee on Multilateralism (ICM), the place the chair was the previous Australian Prime Minister, and I served as Secretary-Normal. My boss at IPI Terje Rod-Larsen knew Epstein and I met him solely on a number of events, three or at max 4 instances to be exact, as a part of a delegation.”

“Our interactions had nothing to do [with the charges against Epstein],” he mentioned.

The Minister of Petroleum and Pure Gasoline went on to say that he had little interest in Epstein’s actions. “For them, I used to be not the ‘proper individual’…Epstein known as me two-faced. Rahul ought to learn the emails.”

Requested about Epstein being convicted as a intercourse offender in 2008 and their interplay going down a lot after that, Puri reiterated that the interplay between them was ‘minimal’. 

“In 2008, he pled responsible, sure, for a cost that he was soliciting the favors of a girl who was underage. That was it. Remainder of these tales acquired to be recognized a lot later. However imagine me, many people had doubts about them. That’s why individuals like us left,” he mentioned.

Puri went on so as to add, “He [Epstein] was a really outstanding member of New York society. Half the world that interacted with him had no clue to his previous. We’ve got to take care of individuals in our lifetime. I used to be a younger first secretary in Colombo and I used to be despatched to barter with a person known as Velupillai Prabhakaran who was LTTE chief. Simply because I used to be negotiating with Prabhakaran who’s LTTE chief and who was later alleged to be was liable for dying of assasination of our Prime Minister does that make me share the terrorist’s worth.”

Referring to his first encounter with Epstein, Puri mentioned, “I can inform you frankly the primary time that I met him I used to be ambushed. I used to be ambushed. I used to be instructed by someone, by my boss, that I need to take you and the chairman of the Fee and different members of the board to a dinner. So I mentioned the place? He mentioned I gained’t inform you the handle as a result of when you get the handle you could not go there.” 

Slamming Gandhi, Chief of the Opposition within the Lok Sabha, Puri mentioned the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) could be transferring a privilege discover in opposition to the Congress chief.

“There’s a younger chief amongst us who raised sure factors in Parliament in the present day. He has a behavior of constructing baseless allegations,” Puri mentioned. The Congress final month had demanded Modi’s clarification over mentions of his title within the Epstein recordsdata. The Ministry of Exterior Affairs (MEA) dismissed the references as “trashy ruminations by a convicted prison”.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)

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