MP Cong protests Hardeep Puri’s Rajya Sabha nomination, raises Epstein files

• Congress burns Hardeep Puri’s effigies in Bhopal over his Rajya Sabha nomination.

• Jitu Patwari seeks answers over alleged references to Puri in Epstein-linked records.

• Puri has previously denied the charges; nominations for the bypoll begin Monday.

The Congress on Friday, 30 October burnt effigies of Union petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, the BJP’s nominee for the 12 November Rajya Sabha by-election in Madhya Pradesh, alleging that his name figured in documents and communications linked to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Effigies were burnt at several places in Bhopal this evening, including Saket, Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Tulsi Nagar and Sarafa Chowk, Madhya Pradesh Congress media coordinator Abhinav Barolia told PTI.

The BJP has fielded Puri for the seat vacated by L Murugan, who resigned from the Union government and the Rajya Sabha earlier this month. Murugan’s term in the Upper House was due to end in April 2030.

Hours before the protests, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari questioned the BJP’s decision to nominate Puri from the state and sought answers over references to the minister in documents, emails and accounts of meetings linked to Epstein.

Patwari said the Congress would organise protests and burn effigies of Puri at district and block levels across Madhya Pradesh.

He also alleged that the BJP had asked a Dalit leader, referring to Murugan, to resign from the Rajya Sabha to make way for Puri, and questioned whether the ruling party lacked suitable leaders from Madhya Pradesh.

Patwari claimed that publicly available documents and information referred to meetings and email exchanges between Puri and Epstein from 2014 to 2017.

“The BJP and Puri must provide factual explanations. The issue is about accountability in public life and not about declaring anyone guilty,” the Congress leader said.

Patwari challenged chief minister Mohan Yadav and BJP state president Hemant Khandelwal to hold a public debate with the Congress on Puri’s nomination and the questions surrounding the Epstein-related documents.

He also questioned the BJP’s commitment to the moral values often advocated by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Urging the media to seek direct answers from the BJP, Patwari said people had the right to know the circumstances behind decisions concerning the state’s representation in the Rajya Sabha. “The Congress’s fight is about transparency, accountability and the political dignity of Madhya Pradesh, and not about making baseless allegations against any individual,” he said.

The Congress has been demanding Puri’s resignation since earlier this year, alleging that his name figures in the ‘Epstein files’ released in the United States. Puri has previously denied the charges levelled against him by the opposition party.

The filing of nominations for the by-election will begin on Monday. Madhya Pradesh has 11 Rajya Sabha seats.