The MEA’s response came shortly after the Opposition Congress stepped up its attack on the Prime Minister
A document that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files is photographed Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, and shows an asset summary for Epstein as of June 30, 2019. - AP
New Delhi: India on Saturday evening firmly rejected reports referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an email purportedly linked to the so-called Epstein files in connection with his official visit to Israel in 2017. The ministry of external affairs (MEA) said that “beyond the fact of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal and deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt.”
In a statement, New Delhi said it had “seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that contains a reference to the Prime Minister and his visit to Israel,” but categorically rejected any insinuations beyond the acknowledged official engagement.
According to reports, the US Department of Justice has released documents linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including a fresh tranche of investigative records. Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly said that more than three million pages of documents, along with over 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, were being released. The disclosures, published on the department’s website, include material that was earlier withheld and were made under the Epstein Files Transparency Act following months of political and public pressure. Epstein died in a New York jail in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, in a death ruled a suicide.
The MEA’s response came shortly after the Opposition Congress stepped up its attack on the Prime Minister, demanding what it termed a “full and transparent explanation” over references to him in the newly disclosed files. The party claimed the material suggested an unexplained association between the Prime Minister and Epstein.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, in a post on X, said the disclosures had serious implications for India’s international image and could not be dismissed as political rhetoric. He alleged that Epstein had claimed to have advised the Prime Minister in connection with his Israel visit, with remarks suggesting the move was intended to benefit the then US President Donald Trump, who began his first term in 2017.
Calling it a matter of “national shame”, Khera cited a purported message attributed to Epstein claiming that the Prime Minister had acted on his advice. He said even the mention of such proximity between India’s Prime Minister and a globally disgraced figure raised serious questions of judgment, transparency and diplomatic propriety. “This is not a routine political issue. It concerns national dignity and India’s reputation on the global stage,” he said.
The Congress demanded that the Prime Minister personally clarify three points: what advice Epstein was allegedly providing; how the alleged actions in Israel were meant to benefit the US President; and what was implied by the purported phrase “it worked” in the cited message. Senior Congress leader and general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “This is truly scandalous. The Prime Minister himself must clarify immediately.”
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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