Hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mentioned him in relation to the Epstein files, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hit back, dismissing the Congress charges as “innuendos and smear campaign”. He said he had a meagre connection with the late serial sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, who had called him two-faced, and that his connection was not related to the charges the late American financier faced.Breaking his silence on the Congress attacks regarding his name figuring in the Epstein files released by US Department of Justice recently, Puri said he was introduced to Epstein by his boss, Terje Roed-Larsen, president of International Peace Institute. “I was in New York for eight years, starting when I was the Ambassador of India to the UN. The files in question give references to four meetings (with Epstein) in eight years. After my stint at the UN, I was invited to be part of Independent Commission on Multilateralism under the aegis of IPI headed by Larsen. Larsen knew the infamous Epstein, and it was as part of the IPI delegations that I met him on three to four occasions,” Puri said.He added that he had only once exchanged an email with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, cc’ing Epstein. “I had been introduced to Hoffman and wrote a copy to Epstein advising them on Internet expansion in India, digital penetration, and ‘Make in India’. Epstein called me two-faced because I did not suit him. Also, in an email, Larsen said if you confront an Indian and a snake, kill the Indian first. So, this is what my interaction was about,” said Puri, adding that he was once ambushed into going to dinner at Epstein’s home.“Larsen would not tell me where he was taking me for dinner. He said I would not go if I was told. I was ambushed,” Puri said. Responding to a question on Epstein having been convicted in 2008 for his crimes and Puri interacting with him even after that, the minister said, “Epstein was a very important member of New York society. You have to deal with people. I was once sent to talk to LTTE chief V Prabhakaran. Just because I met a terrorist doesn’t make me share his values,” said Puri, attacking Rahul for harbouring what he called “elements of buffoonery”.Puri recalled past actions of Rahul and attacked him for “his move of tearing up an ordinance cleared by the late Manmohan Singh cabinet in 2013; calling India a dead economy; claiming that a Brazilian model voted in Indian elections, which was not true”. Puri said in his case, Rahul had dialled a wrong number.