Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 21: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a swipe at the BJP and the RSS over a purported photograph of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri with US financier Jeffrey Epstein, linking its reported release to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s ongoing India visit.
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?”
Gandhi’s remarks came amid questions raised by opposition leaders over Puri’s alleged meeting with Epstein, a convicted sex offender, after a purported photograph of the two circulated on social media.
By juxtaposing the reported release of the photograph with Rubio’s visit, Gandhi appeared to question the timing of the developments and their possible political implications.
Although he did not explicitly mention the India-US trade deal in his post, his reference to Rubio’s visit has fuelled 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 directly linked the developments to Rubio’s visit to Mumbai and discussions surrounding the India-US trade deal. In his post on X, Srinivas suggested a “possible connection” between the developments and the 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 to bring about regime change in India following his visit to Vietnam.
Speaking in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, Patra alleged that Gandhi was travelling abroad to receive coaching from financier George Soros on how to destabilise the country.
Patra’s remarks came amid reports that Gandhi had left India for a four-day private visit to Vietnam, even as protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were continuing.