Amidst the ongoing political controversy surrounding Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has strongly responded to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s claims regarding a meeting with Soros at Puri’s New York residence during his tenure as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
Puri clarified that while he did host a dinner on October 12, 2009, the guest list, including Soros, was curated by Tharoor, who had spent more time in New York. Puri, who was relatively new to the city, stated that he had initially hosted Tharoor and his companion for a breakfast briefing on October 11, followed by the dinner on October 12.
“I noticed Mr. Soros’ name on the list and raised it with the then Minister, who had already met him earlier in May 2009 and even tweeted about it. That was the only time I met Soros,” Puri wrote on X.
Additionally, Puri mentioned that after Tharoor’s December 15 post, he called the Congress leader to remind him of the context of the meeting but his call was not answered.
Puri concluded that Soros was included in the guest list because he was a benefactor of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, and Tharoor, in his capacity as Minister of State, was eager to meet him.