- Congress leadership condemns Modi for ties and demands answers.
- Citing Modi’s meetings with Trump, Israel’s turn to claim connection.
- The government denies any advisory role or meaningful contact with Epstein.
Newly released files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have attracted attention after an email mentioning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared in the latest batch released by the US Justice Department, prompting a sharp response from New Delhi.
Jerusalem Post reported on Saturday that one of the emails attributed to Epstein refers to Modi’s state visit to Israel in 2017 – the first ever by an Indian prime minister.
The announcement alleges that Modi acted on Epstein’s advice during the trip, a suggestion that Indian authorities have denied.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the only verifiable fact in the email is Modi’s official visit to Israel, calling the rest of the claims baseless and misleading.
MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the remarks as the musings of a convicted criminal and said there was no evidence of any meaningful contact or advisory role involving Modi and Epstein.
Despite the denial, opposition parties have cited the reference to press the government for an explanation.
Meanwhile, local media reported that the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, strongly criticized Prime Minister Modi, calling any alleged link with Epstein a matter of deep national shame.
Congress said in a recent statement that Epstein wrote in an email that Modi took his advice before visiting Israel and claimed that Modi “danced and sang” there to benefit the US president.
The party said Modi visited Israel from July 4 to 6, 2017, and Epstein’s email was written three days after the trip.
It added that Modi had met then US President Donald Trump in June 2017 before the Israel visit, and claimed that this showed a long-standing and deep connection between Modi and Epstein.
The opposition party said the issue concerns national dignity and international credibility and that Modi must answer questions about what advice he took from Epstein and the significance of the allegations in the email.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in a Manhattan prison while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He was jailed in 2008 for soliciting paid sex from a minor.
A fresh cache of files released Friday in connection with the investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contains documents that refer to several high-profile individuals.
President Donald Trump, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and British billionaire Richard Branson are among some of the people named in the documents.
