Congress demands PM Modi to come clean on 'disclosures' on him made in Epstein files
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from Narendra Modi following “disclosures” in the Epstein files in the US that some “monsters” had access to him, and said the prime minister should come clean on the issue.
Congress general secretary in charge of organisation, K C Venugopal, said in a post on X, "The reports of the new batch of Epstein Files are a huge wake-up call about the kind of monsters who have access to PM Modi, and how susceptible he is to foreign manipulation.
"The Congress demands that the prime minister personally come clean on these disturbing disclosures that raise serious questions.”
“Has he met Jeffrey Epstein? Or did he send someone to meet him? What did his conversations with Epstein involve,” the Congress leader asked.
The Epstein files are thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, including travel logs, recordings, and emails, which have been a topic of conversation since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
Venugopal claimed equally concerning was a report that while India’s foreign policy was changing dramatically, Prime Minister Modi was “dancing and singing” to the tunes of “tainted” individuals like Epstein to “benefit foreign powers”.
“People of India deserve an answer,” Venugopal said.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "The prime minister himself must clarify.”
Congress leader Pawan Khera also asked whether Modi was in touch with a "disgraceful" American such as Epstein right around the 2019 elections.
On Saturday, the BJP accused the Congress of spreading misinformation against Prime Minister Modi by "twisting" a generic email fragment of investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein into a political smear, asserting that there is "zero evidence" of any direct or indirect interaction between the two.
The Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected a reference to Modi in the investigative files related to Epstein, describing it as "little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal" that deserves to be dismissed with the "utmost contempt".
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
