By Staff Reporter | January 31, 2026 | New Delhi - A political firestorm erupted in India on Saturday after the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi surfaced in emails that are part of the massive trove of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The opposition Congress party immediately seized on the revelation, demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister, while India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) moved swiftly to dismiss the claims as meaningless.
What the Documents Allege
The controversy stems from two separate documents shared by the Congress party on social media. The first is a purported email dated July 9, 2017, in which Epstein allegedly wrote to an unnamed senior official in Qatar, claiming that Prime Minister Modi had taken his advice before embarking on an official visit to Israel. The email reportedly states that Modi "danced and sang in Israel" for the benefit of the then-U.S. President, followed by the remark: "IT WORKED!"
The second document is a purported exchange between Epstein and former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, dated May 24, 2019 — just one day after the results of India's Lok Sabha elections were declared. In it, Epstein allegedly wrote to Bannon: describing a "really interesting modi meeting" and noting that Modi had won with a "HUGE mandate," while also flagging China and Pakistan as key geopolitical rivals.
However, analysts have noted that the second exchange is ambiguous and does not necessarily confirm a direct meeting between Modi and Epstein. It could refer to a routine political interaction or briefing that the Prime Minister may have held or attended.
Congress Demands Answers
The Congress party wasted no time in going on the offensive. Party spokesperson and general secretary (communications) Pawan Khera posted on social media platform X, calling the revelations a "national shame" and demanding that the Prime Minister provide a direct clarification.
Khera raised a series of pointed questions: why Modi was allegedly meeting Epstein around the time of the 2019 elections; why he claimed a close friendship with America when, according to the documents, Washington insiders did not engage with him; and why he subsequently appeared to soften his stance on China following the 2020 Galwan crisis.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared Khera's post on X, calling the situation "truly scandalous" and stating that the Prime Minister's silence on the matter was "unacceptable."
Khera framed the issue in broader terms, stating that the association between Epstein — a convicted sex offender and human trafficker — and India's Prime Minister represented a serious threat to national dignity and India's international reputation. "This is not a routine political issue. It concerns national dignity and India's reputation on the global stage," he said.
India's Government Responds
The MEA issued a firm rebuttal on Saturday evening. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that the government had seen the reports but categorically rejected any implication beyond the well-documented fact of PM Modi's official visit to Israel in July 2017 — a historic trip that marked the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country since the two nations established full diplomatic relations in 1992.
Jaiswal described the remaining allusions in the email as "little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal," adding that they "deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt."
BJP Pushes Back
The ruling BJP also came out strongly in defense of the Prime Minister. Party MP Sambit Patra addressed the media in Delhi, calling the Congress's social media posts "fraudulent" and accusing the opposition of deliberately misrepresenting the contents of the Epstein files to manufacture a political controversy.
Background: The Epstein Files Release
The documents at the center of this controversy are part of a massive disclosure by the U.S. Department of Justice. On January 30, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the release of over 3.5 million pages of documents, more than 2,000 videos, and approximately 180,000 images connected to Epstein's criminal network. The release was mandated by a law passed by the U.S. Congress requiring full transparency into Epstein's crimes and associations.
Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier, was arrested in 2019 on federal charges of sex trafficking involving minors. He died by apparent suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, just one month after his indictment. He had previously served 13 months in a Florida facility following a controversial plea deal in 2008.
Political Implications
The episode highlights the intensifying political battles in India as the Congress party continues to look for avenues to challenge the ruling BJP ahead of future electoral contests. For its part, the government's swift and forceful denial appears aimed at neutralizing the narrative before it gains broader traction domestically or internationally.
Whether the documents amount to anything more than the ramblings of a disgraced criminal — or whether they point to something more significant — remains a matter of sharp debate in Indian political and media circles.
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