A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of indulging in “gandi aur nangi (dirty and shameless)” politics, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit back, alleging that the prime minister’s name and that of a Union minister appeared in the Epstein files and accusing the government of “selling out” India’s interests under the Indo-US trade deal.

In a post on X and a video message, Rahul said what is shameful is the mention of the prime minister’s name alongside that of a cabinet colleague and an industrialist in the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

"Modiji, you are talking about shame? Let me tell you what shame is. Your name, your minister's and your friend's names appearing together in the Epstein files, being linked to such a vile criminal -- that is a matter of shame. The trade deal you have done with the US, in which you have sold out the country -- that is shameful. You have handed over our country's data. You have wiped out the farmers. You have ruined the textile industry -- that is shameful. The entire country knows that the ongoing case against Adani in the US has kept you awake at night -- because it is a case against the BJP and your financial architecture. For 14 months, no action has been taken on it -- that is shameful," the former Congress chief said in his post in Hindi.

Rahul alleged that the ongoing court case in the United States against industrialist Gautam Adani had unsettled the prime minister and claimed it was a case against the BJP and its financial architecture.

He further said, "Modiji, you do whatever you deem appropriate for your friends Anil Ambani, Adani and yourself. I and the lion-hearted warriors of the Congress will continue to defend the country -- we will not retreat even an inch."

In his video message, Rahul claimed there was fear in the prime minister’s eyes and that this was why he did not face the opposition in Parliament during the Budget session.

He said it was not former Army chief M M Naravane’s unpublished book but the Epstein files and the US case against Adani that kept Modi away from Parliament.

Gandhi reiterated his allegation that the India-US interim trade deal had compromised India’s interests and said the mention of a Union minister’s name in the files related to Epstein, who he described as a known paedophile, was a matter of shame.

"Modiji, continue to do what is right for your friends. But we protect the country, the farmers, the labourers, the country's small and medium industries and data, and we would continue to do that," Gandhi said, calling on Congress workers not to step back even an inch.

The exchange comes a day after Modi, speaking at the inauguration of the Namo Bharat train and the Meerut Metro Rail extension, criticised the Congress over its “shirtless” protest at the India AI Impact Summit held at Bharat Mandapam.

He alleged that the opposition had turned an international event hosted by India into an arena for its “gandi aur nangi (dirty and shameless)” politics. The prime minister also described the Congress as “ideologically-bankrupt and impoverished” and accused it of crossing all limits. He said that instead of feeling ashamed, Congress leaders were glorifying those who insulted the country and the prime minister.

Youth Congress workers had staged a “shirtless” protest at the summit venue on Friday.