NEW DELHI: In a twist to the political sparring over “missing” papers of India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Union government on Friday told the Lok Sabha that no documents linked to Nehru were found to be missing from the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) during its annual inspection. The government said the routine verification exercise at the PMML had not flagged the absence of any records or correspondence associated with Nehru,
A political row erupted in September after Rizwan Kadri, a member of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) Society said he had written to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to allow physical or digital access to private papers related to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that are in her possession. Kadri claimed that the historical records related to Nehru including his letters to Lady Mountbatten were withdrawn following the instructions of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in 2008.
Replying to a question by BJP MP Sambit Patra, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in a written response,“No documents related to India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, have been found missing from the museum during the annual inspection of the PMML in the year 2025.”
Sharing the response on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh sought to know if the party can expect an apology on the issue. “The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?”
PMML Society, the key decision-making body of the PMML, is helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its president, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the vice-president.
The minister was also asked whether PMML has “formulated any policy” for conducting an annual audit of the documents available in the museum. “No, there is no annual audit of documents in the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library,”. Shekhawat said in the reply.
Asked whether the said documents were “improperly and illegally removed” from the museum, Shekhawat said, “Does not arise.” The Union Minister further said in the Annual General Meeting of the PMML in 2025 that “no decision regarding the non-availability of documents related to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was taken”.
PMML is housed in Teen Murti Bhawan, which also hosts the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya. The Teen Murti Bhawan in central Delhi, after Nehru’s death, was turned into the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), housing a rich collection of books and rare records. It was renamed the PMML Society in 2023.