The Culture Ministry on Wednesday clarified that the personal papers of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru cannot be termed “missing” from the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (PMML) as they are held by former Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
These clarifications come after the Congress’ reaction against the Center following Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat’s written reply to BJP MP Sambit Patra’s question on whether Nehru’s letters were missing from the PMML.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat responded that “no document related to the country’s first Prime Minister is missing from PMML”.
This gave Congress an opportunity to attack the central government and demanded the BJP government to apologize and return Nehru’s personal letters to Sonia Gandhi over the allegation that they were in possession of them.
The Culture Ministry clarified in a post today that these documents cannot be termed “missing” as they have been located and their return is being sought. The ministry said these are “part of the nation’s documentary heritage”.
Through a letter dated April 29, 2008, Smt. Sonia Gandhi’s representative M.V. Rajan requested that Mrs. Gandhi return all the private family papers and notes of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Accordingly, 51 cartons of Nehru Papers were sent to Smt. Sonia Gandhi in 2008. PMML is continuously active.
The Culture Ministry said that correspondence is being maintained since then with the office of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi for the return of these documents, including the letters written by PMML to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi on January 28, 2025 and July 3, 2025.
Therefore, the Nehru Papers are not “missing” from PMML, as their address is known. These documents relating to the first Prime Minister of India are part of the documentary heritage of the nation and not private property. Their safekeeping with PMML and their availability for research by citizens and scholars is of utmost importance,” the ministry further said.
Earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had demanded an apology from the government after the Culture Ministry responded that no papers were “missing” from the PMML.
He said, “The truth finally came out in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology?”
