BJP Says Congress Twisted Epstein Files To Smear PM Modi

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Congress of spreading misinformation by allegedly editing and misrepresenting a generic email fragment from investigative files related to Jeffrey Epstein to politically target Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asserting that there is “zero evidence” of any direct or indirect interaction between the two, according to PTI.

The BJP’s response came after the Congress shared a purported email on X, along with a link to the US Department of Justice website, claiming that Modi’s name had surfaced in the Epstein files and demanding a clarification from the prime minister. Reported PTI, the BJP said the opposition party had twisted the material to create a false narrative.

Addressing a press briefing, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra termed the Congress’s post a “fraud” and accused the party of editing the document to malign the prime minister and harm India’s image internationally. “The Congress added the words, ‘his advice’ in Jeffrey Epstein’s email by editing it to portray as if Prime Minister Modi took some advice from him. These words were not in the (original) email. Congress added these words by fraudulently editing the email,” Patra charged.

“There will be consequences of such fraud. Such kind of 420 (cheating) is taken into cognizance and punished,” he added. Patra further said that the people of the country would give a befitting reply to the Congress for attempting to malign the prime minister through what he described as a “fabricated” social media post, PTI reported.

BJP leader and IT department head Amit Malviya also flagged the Congress post on X as “fake news”. “The Congress's sensational claim that Jeffrey Epstein wrote about Prime Minister Narendra Modi allegedly taking his 'advice' to 'dance and sing' in Israel for the benefit of a US President is a gross distortion of the facts,” Malviya said.

He said none of the Epstein-related documents released by the US House Oversight Committee indicated that Modi had ever sought, received or acted upon Epstein’s personal advice on “dancing and singing or anything else”, nor did they show any contact between the two. “Verified records contain no reference to Epstein's 'advice', no mention of dancing or singing, and no statement claiming 'IT WORKED!',” Malviya said, alleging that “these details are entirely fabricated” to “manufacture outrage”.

Malviya added that independent fact-checks confirmed there was zero evidence of any direct or indirect interaction or advisory role between Modi and Epstein. He said the prime minister’s 2017 visit to Israel was a landmark diplomatic engagement focused on defence, technology and trade, with routine cultural courtesies typical of state visits, not an “imagined Epstein-linked scheme”, according to PTI.

“The Congress's post twists a generic email fragment into a political smear, conveniently ignoring the well-established fact that Epstein was a habitual name-dropper who exaggerated connections to project influence,” Malviya charged. While the opposition may amplify such misinformation for political mileage, he said, facts eventually catch up. “If there is any 'national shame', it lies in spreading half-truths to undermine India's leadership,” he added, responding to the Congress’s description of the reference to Modi’s name as “extremely shameful”.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs also rejected the reference to the prime minister in the Epstein-related investigative files, describing it as “little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal” that deserved to be dismissed with the “utmost contempt”, PTI reported.

On the other hand, Congress leaders stood by their demand for clarification. In a post on X, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “It is a matter of national shame that Jeffrey Epstein -- a convicted human trafficker, child sex offender and serial rapist from the USA -- wrote that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took his 'advice and danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US president. They had met a few weeks ago. IT WORKED!'”

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said the matter was getting “more scandalous”, adding in a post on X, “The PM's silence is unacceptable.”

(With inputs from PTI)