New Delhi [India], December 19 (ANI): Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat raised questions in Parliament over documents related to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that were taken from the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) in 2008, urging former Congress President Sonia Gandhi to return them in the interest of preserving the country’s documentary heritage.
Speaking on the issue on Thursday, Shekhawat said that between 1971 and 1992, documents related to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru were handed over to the Prime Ministers’ Museum on nine different occasions.
“Today (on Thursday), a question was raised regarding the documents of the Prime Ministers’ Museum… From 1971 to 1992, during this entire period, documents related to Pandit Nehru were handed over to the Prime Ministers’ Museum on 9 different occasions. These documents, numbering approximately 4 lakh, were related to Jawaharlal Nehru,” he said.
Shekhawat added that these documents were deposited for safekeeping and were not gifts.
“When they were handed over, it was written that ‘these are not gifts, they have been deposited for safekeeping…’ Taking advantage of this clause, in 2008, on the instructions of Sonia Gandhi, M.V. Rajan came there and took the documents, saying that they needed some documents back that had been kept for safekeeping. Accordingly, 21,000 documents were returned to them,” he stated.
He further said that the PMML had later written to Sonia Gandhi requesting the return of the documents to maintain continuity, but they were not sent back.
“In response to that letter, Sonia Gandhi wrote, ‘I will look into this matter…’ I would urge her to return these documents to the Prime Ministers’ Museum,” Shekhawat said.
Meanwhile, following the Ministry of Culture’s clarification that no document related to Jawaharlal Nehru is “missing” from PMML as their whereabouts are known, historian and author Rizwan Kadri, a member of the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society, expressed hope that Sonia Gandhi would return the collections.
Speaking to ANI, Kadri said he was appointed to the PMML Society in 2019 and that efforts were made to ensure researchers faced no difficulties.
“I wanted to study Edwina Mountbatten’s papers. The original collection was donated to the institution by her daughter, but I could not see it. This issue was discussed during our annual general meeting. Sonia Gandhi had taken these papers into her custody,” he said.
He added that the issue was formally acknowledged in 2024.
“After the 2024 meeting, for the first time in the minutes, the organisation acknowledged that Sonia Gandhi was the chairperson of this institution in 2008. The collections were segregated. She took a total of 9 collections,” Kadri said.
Kadri further said that despite repeated requests, there was no response until the issue was raised publicly.
“After receiving no response from her in December 2024, I requested LoP Rahul Gandhi to help me with my research. Then, in January 2025, our executive council requested Sonia ji, but there was no response from her. Yesterday, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat brought this matter into the public domain… I hope she returns back the collection to the autonomous body,” he added.
The clarification from the Ministry of Culture came after Congress objected to Shekhawat’s written reply in Parliament to a question by BJP MP Sambit Patra on whether Nehru’s letters were missing from PMML. Shekhawat had stated that no document related to the country’s first Prime Minister was missing, prompting Congress to demand an apology from the Centre.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Ministry of Culture said the papers are not missing because their location is known and sought their return, describing them as “part of the nation’s documentary heritage.”
“Vide letter dated April 29, 2008, M V Rajan, representative of Smt. Sonia Gandhi requested that Smt. Gandhi wishes to take back all of the private family letters and notes of former PM Jawahar Lal Nehru. Accordingly, 51 cartons of Nehru Papers were sent to Smt. Sonia Gandhi in 2008,” the Ministry said.
It added that PMML has remained in continuous correspondence with Sonia Gandhi’s office for the return of the papers, including letters dated January 28, 2025, and July 3, 2025. (ANI)
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