Epstein files fallout: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demands Hardeep Puri’s resignation

A day after Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated that he had met Jeffrey Epstein three or four times, Congress MP and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday called for his resignation

Speaking to The Indian Express, Priyanka Gandhi alleged that Puri had corresponded with Epstein even after allegations against the financier had become public

Jeffrey Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to prostitution-related charges, including soliciting a minor, and was later arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges before his death in a Manhattan jail cell, which was ruled a suicide

A fresh tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice on January 30 revealed that Puri exchanged emails with Epstein during 2014-15

Referring to those documents, Priyanka Gandhi told The Indian Express that, in her opinion, the Union Minister should resign

Earlier, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had mentioned Puri’s name in connection with the Epstein files, prompting a response from the minister

Hardeep Puri denied any wrongdoing and said he had met Epstein only three or four times over eight years while serving as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013 and later while working with the International Peace Institute’s Independent Commission on Multilateralism until 2017

At a press conference, Puri maintained that references were limited to a few meetings and stated that all his interactions were entirely professional and related to multilateral and international work