‘Who are they blackmailing?’: Rahul Gandhi’s dig at BJP-RSS over ‘Epstein-Puri picture’

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the BJP and RSS after a purported photograph of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein surfaced on social media. Linking the development to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's India visit, Gandhi raised questions about possible political implications.

New Delhi: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a swipe at the BJP and the RSS over a purported picture of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with tainted US financier Jeffrey Epstein, linking the alleged release of it to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ongoing India visit, without explicitly referring to the India-US trade deal.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi wrote, “Rubio goes to Mumbai. The US DOJ releases a picture of Epstein and Puri. Dear BJP and RSS workers, which anti-national traitor do you think they’re blackmailing?”

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The Congress leader’s post came amid questions raised by opposition leaders over Puri’s alleged meeting with Epstein, the convicted sex offender, after a purported photograph of the two circulated on social media. By juxtaposing the reported release of the picture with Rubio’s visit, Gandhi appeared to raise questions about the timing of the developments and their possible political implications.

Although he did not mention the India-US trade deal in his post, the reference to Rubio’s visit has added to speculation within the Congress camp, where the issue has also been linked to ongoing discussions between New Delhi and Washington.

Earlier, Congress leader Srinivas B.V. had explicitly connected the developments to Rubio’s visit to Mumbai and the discussions surrounding the India-US trade deal. In his X post, Srinivas’s remarks directly suggested a “possible connection” between the developments and trade negotiations. However, neither the timing of the photograph’s circulation nor the opposition leaders’ statements establish any link between the matter and the negotiations.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Sambit Patra accused Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, of attempting regime change in India following his visit to Vietnam. Speaking on Wednesday in Bhubaneswar, Patra alleged that Gandhi was travelling abroad to receive coaching from financier George Soros on how to destabilise the country. Patra’s comments followed reports that Gandhi left India for a four-day private trip to Vietnam, amid ongoing protests related to the SIR matter.