Spokesperson: Shri Pawan Khera: He observed that the government of India seemed reluctant to state openly whether the invitation to Gates had been withdrawn in view of his association with Epstein, noting that even this information was being attributed to anonymous sources.

Reiterating his Party’s demand that Union minister Hardeep Puri resign and explain why he was sharing govt policies with Epstein despite not holding an official position at that time, Khera said that Puri had met Jeffery Epstein 14 times and the two had exchanged 62 emails between them. “Isn’t it a crime to have a relationship with a convicted sex offender?” he asked. He asked the Prime Minister in what capacity Puri was representing the government when he was not a part of it at that time. “What sort of foreign policy were you running as you were sidelining your own officers and deputing a private person for that job?” he asked the Prime Minister.

He posed a series of questions to Puri, asking him, “Whom are you trying to protect? What were you discussing with Epstein? Whom were you representing? What are you hiding from the people of India? Why is it so that the process of meetings started after Modi became the PM? Tuesday, February 17, 2026