New Delhi [India], February 11 (ANI): Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday questioned why industrialist Anil Ambani was not in jail, alleging in Parliament that his name appeared in the Epstein-related files.

Raising the issue during his speech in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi also referred to Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, claiming that Puri knew who introduced Anil Ambani to Epstein.

'There is a businessman Anil Ambani, I want to ask why is he not in jail? The reason is that his name is in the Epstein Files. I would also like to ask Hardeep Puri, who introduced him to Epstein. I know who introduced him, and Hardeep Puri knows who introduced him,' he said.

Following his speech on the Union Budget, the Congress leader reiterated his allegations while speaking to reporters in Delhi, claiming that the Prime Minister was under 'direct pressure'.

'I have said that I will authenticate the data. There are Department of Justice files on Epstein files naming Hardeep Puri and Anil Ambani. In an ongoing case against Adani, summons have been issued. The government of India has not responded for the last 18 months. There is direct pressure on the Prime Minister. The main thing is that no PM would do this in a normal situation. In a normal situation, no PM would do what has happened in terms of data, farmers, energy security and defence. Someone would do this only when there is a certain grip on them,' Gandhi told reporters.

On January 31, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, strongly dismissed the references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2017 visit to Israel in an email purportedly part of the recently released Epstein Files.

MEA spokesperson dubbed the reference as the 'trashy ruminations' of a convicted criminal.

'We have seen reports of an email message from the so-called Epstein files that has a reference to the Prime Minister and his visit to Israel. Beyond the fact of the Prime Minister's official visit to Israel in July 2017, the rest of the allusions in the email are little more than trashy ruminations by a convicted criminal, which deserve to be dismissed with the utmost contempt,' MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. (ANI)