Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, who was approached by Steve Bannon, the former adviser to President Donald Trump, in order to get in touch with PM Modi.
Talking to media persons at a press conference in Satara on Saturday, Chavan said, “Epstein was an Israeli spy. Many rich Americans used to approach him. Modi came into contact with Epstein in 2014. Trump’s former adviser Steve Bannon had approached Jeffrey Epstein because he wanted to meet Modi. What was Modi’s relationship with Steve Bannon? The name of Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who used to be the then Indian ambassador to the United States, has also been mentioned in Epstein’s email. The government must clarify such connections.”
“The Epstein files contain almost 30 years of data, which includes huge amounts of electronic evidence like emails, letters, photographs, video recordings, and audio recordings. All this evidence was presented in the cases against Epstein. All this evidence is now with the US Department of Justice. The Attorney General works under the authority of President Trump and the current Attorney General was appointed by President Trump as the Attorney General six months ago. All these documents are in his possession,” Chavan said.
Prithviraj Chavan said that this case has been going on since 1995-96, and its information gradually came to light in the US in 2005 and 2010. “Epstein lured minor girls and sexually exploited them and sold their bodies to high-ranking bigwigs, due to which many girls filed criminal cases against him. Epstein died in a high-security prison in New York in August 2019. There is still no clear answer about whether Epstein committed suicide by hanging himself or was murdered,” Chavan said.
“The case became so high profile that it became impossible for lawmakers from both parties in the United States (to save President Trump) to suppress it, because voters threatened that if this case is suppressed, they will face the consequences in the next election. This atmosphere forced lawmakers from both parties (Republicans and Democrats) to release all documents, photos, and videos related to Epstein, collectively known as the Epstein Files,” Chavan said.
It may be recalled that a few days ago, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan had stated on December 1, 2025, that if the names mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein file became public, it could cause a political earthquake in India, due to which a “Marathi man” might become the Prime Minister of India.
Tweeting about the matter on his X handle, Chavan tagged the official X handles of the Maharashtra Congress, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.
“If the information in the ‘Epstein Files’ currently circulating in America comes out, it could cause a major earthquake in Indian politics. In this political upheaval, we may see a Marathi man become the Prime Minister of the country by next month,” Chavan tweeted on X.
However, when media persons asked Chavan about “Which Marathi man could become the Prime Minister during a press conference at Karad,” Chavan kept the suspense alive by saying nothing more than, “You find out now.”