Congress President Pawan Khera Photo Credit: ANI
The Congress on Tuesday (Feb 17, 2026) accused Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri of “lying” in the “Epstein files” controversy and asked him to explain “62 email exchanges” with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2014 and 2017.
The party repeated the demand for the minister’s resignation.
Mr. Puri denied Congress’ allegations, saying he had met Epstein “on several occasions” and that those meetings were “professional” in nature.
Congress media and publicity chief Pawan Khera told a press conference that there were nine meetings in 2014 alone and a total of 14 between 2014 and 2017. “There were 62 email exchanges between Hardeep Puri and Epstein between 2014 and 2017. 23 and 24 and October 9 and 10, 2014?” he asked. Mr. Khera.
He claimed that Mr Puri sent 32 emails, while Epstein wrote 30, and that the meetings took place soon after the Narendra Modi government took office in 2014 and continued until 2017.
“The question is, what position did Hardeep Puri hold in June 2014 and in what capacity did he meet with Epstein?” asked Mr. Khera.
Referring to the minister’s recent interview, Mr Khera claimed that he had told “a lot of lies”. “Why did Hardeep Puri share government policy with Epstein as a private citizen? He should first resign and then clarify the matter,” Mr Khera said, adding that the minister had “proven himself wrong by telling one lie after another”.
Mr. Khera also took a dig at the Center at the planned participation of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in the ongoing summit on the impact of artificial intelligence in Delhi, citing conflicting claims by government sources.
“Government sources are saying – Bill Gates will not come to the AI summit, while Bill Gates himself is saying that I will come to the summit and give a speech,” Mr Khera said.
While Mr. Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing any of Epstein’s victims, records released by the US Department of Justice include allegations by Epstein that the Microsoft co-founder caught a sexually transmitted disease.
A spokesman for Mr Gates called the claim “absolutely absurd”.
Published – 17 Feb 2026 21:52 IST