India’s government has dismissed claims made in a recently released email by late financier Jeffrey Epstein that referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2017 visit to Israel, calling the remarks baseless and contemptible.
The controversy emerged after the US Justice Department released millions of pages of documents related to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in custody. Among them was a July 2017 email in which Epstein claimed that Modi “took advice and danced and sang in Israel” to please the US president. The email offered no evidence or further context for the assertion.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Modi made an official visit to Israel in July 2017 but firmly rejected the characterisation cited in the email. An MEA spokesperson said the comments were nothing more than the musings of a convicted criminal and deserved no credibility.
The release of the email triggered criticism from India’s opposition Congress party, which termed the alleged association extremely shameful and demanded clarification from the government. Some Pakistani political figures also commented on the matter, mocking the Indian prime minister over the claims.
The episode comes amid rising tensions between India and the United States over trade, defence purchases and India’s continued imports of Russian oil, with US President Donald Trump recently making critical remarks about Modi during a public address.
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