The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday alleged that former Union minister Kapil Sibal received an award funded by convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at a 2010 event in New York, demanding that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi respond to the issue. The Congress dismissed the charge as baseless, with Sibal calling it 'rubbish'.
The controversy adds another layer to the political confrontation over names that have surfaced in documents related to Epstein in the United States.
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, in a post on X, claimed that an award 'reportedly funded by Jeffrey Epstein' was received by Sibal at the 2010 International Awards Gala in New York.
He posted a document that purportedly listed Sibal among awardees at the event, alongside other dignitaries including Congress overseas department head Sam Pitroda.
“Soon after that period, several policy shifts were witnessed during the then Congress-led government. Were these coincidences, or did external influence of Epstein attempt to shape decisions of Congress govt? Rahul Gandhi should answer!” Bhandari said.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also questioned why Sibal had “accepted an award from Epstein-funded IIE” and sought a response from Gandhi.
Sibal, who was the Union minister for human resource development at the time and is now an Independent Rajya Sabha member backed by the Samajwadi Party, dismissed the allegation as 'rubbish'.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said Sibal was given an award at the event for his “resolute support of global collaboration in education”, adding that it was “completely unrelated to Jeffrey Epstein”.
Khera said the document cited by the BJP was originally sent by Margaux Rogers to Epstein’s personal assistant Lesley Groff on September 10, 2010, and later forwarded to Epstein. He described it as a compilation of major public events in New York that Epstein may have tracked.
“It’s a 59-page document, listing events ranging from conferences to fashion shows. Kapil Sibal’s name appears on page 55, under an Institute of International Education event,” Khera said, alleging that the BJP had selectively posted screenshots without reading the full file.
The exchange comes amid an ongoing political dispute over references to Indian names in the so-called 'Epstein files' released in the United States.
The Congress has been demanding the resignation of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri after his name appeared in the files.
Puri has denied wrongdoing, stating that he met Epstein on a few occasions but that his interactions were unrelated to Epstein’s criminal conduct.
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