We have a young leader who has a habit of making baseless allegations: Hardeep Singh Puri!

By Samira Vishwas On Feb 12, 2026

On Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the House, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “We have a young leader, who put forth some things in Parliament today. He has a habit of making baseless allegations.”

He said that there are two types of leaders. One is those who take responsibility in the political system and dedicate their lives to social service and transforming the country, and ensure that the country grows from the 10th largest economy to the 3rd largest economy in their lifetime.

There are other leaders too, who sometimes come to the country, and when they come to the Parliament, when someone gives them a concrete answer and does not listen to them, they leave the House. He left after his own speech today.

Taking aim at Rahul Gandhi, he said that the young leader should know that the Epstein files relate to wrongdoings and criminal cases. The files contain allegations that Epstein owned an island where he carried out immoral activities. Those victims have filed cases against the authorities. My conversation had nothing to do with it.

He said that in November 2014 I was a common citizen. Someone said they wanted to see India. We had a meeting with Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, on the west coast of the US.

I began my email by saying that I am now more convinced than ever that today’s India presents a tremendous opportunity and that Reid Hoffman should come to India and see the changes that are coming.

He said that I was talking about Digital India, Make in India in November 2014. If my memory is correct, this project started in 2015. Here I was a far-sighted common citizen who knew what kind of work the Modi government was going to do.

Hardeep Singh Puri said that Congress leader Supriya Shrinet raised the question in an email that ‘Who do I think introduced Hardeep Puri to Epstein…?’ These facts are publicly known. 30 lakh emails have been released.

I lived in New York for eight years, starting in May 2009, when I took over as India’s Ambassador to the United Nations. I became a minister in 2017. There is mention of perhaps three or four meetings over eight years.

He said that I decided to tell youth leader Rahul Gandhi and in the letter I wrote to him, I told him that a few months after my retirement from the post of India’s Ambassador to the United Nations, I received an invitation to join the International Peace Institute (IPI).

I was not directly a part of IPI. As part of IPI or ICM delegations, I met Epstein on a few occasions. The ICM dealt with international issues, and Epstein was not part of it.

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