NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (PMML) Society has denied making any correspondence to the Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi with regard to the retrieval of historical documents-- related to the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, which were reportedly withdrawn from the museum.
Director of the PMML Sanjiv Nandan Sahai told The New Indian Express that the institution had not written any letter to the Gandhi family.
Recently, historian and a member of the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (PMML) Society Rizwan Kadri has sought intervention of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi for retrieving documents, which were part of the Jawaharlal Nehru collections.
Kadri claimed that several historical records related to the first Prime Minister of the country including his letters to Lady Mountbatten were withdrawn on the instructions of Sonia Gandhi in 2008.
The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Puri BJP MP Sambit Patra, during Question Hour, said that the records were important to understand the history of India and appealed to the culture ministry to probe the matter and bring back the documents to the museum.
In response, Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that he had noted the suggestion and action could be taken in the matter.
Later, speaking at a press conference, Patra said that the documents were not personal property of anyone or any family, but historical documents part of the “treasure” of India and should be given back.
“What were the contents of the letter that the first family felt should not be made public,” Patra asked. He said that the digitisation process of historical records began in the museum in 2010 but the Gandhi family decided to take back the letters’ possession before that.
Kadri told TNIE that in September he, in his personal capacity, had written to Sonia Gandhi requesting her to return the documents in question to the institution. On December 10, he sent a letter to Rahul with a similar request as there was no response from her.
“In my letter, I requested Sonia Gandhi to return the documents to the museum or allow us to scan the papers. In 51 cartons full of documents from eight different sections, which were part of the Nehru collections at the Prime Ministers’ Museum were taken away in 2008. They were donated earlier to the institutions. How can they be taken back? The papers are a nation’s heritage and an important aspect of its history. They will help researchers,” he said.
According to the Ahmedabad-based historian, the collection removed from the museum includes exchange between Nehru and Lady Mountbatten and letters written to Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Jayaprakash Narayan, and other individuals.
“The letters are a significant part of Indian history and have been proven through records to have been withdrawn from the museum in 2008 at Sonia Gandhi’s direction... I also urged Rahul Gandhi to consider returning these documents as they are an important aspect of its history,” Kadri said, adding that he is yet to receive any response from both leaders.
PMML Director Sanjiv Nandan Sahai said that the institution had not made any correspondence with the Gandhi family. Chairman of the PMML Society Nripendra Misra said that the issue was flagged in the Annual General Meeting of the PMML and the matter was left to the director to decide.
“The papers were donated by the family and taken back. It was discussed in the AGM when two-three members raised the issue. The AGM let the director look into it,” he said.
Responding to the BJP’s allegation, Congress MP and permanent invitee to Congress Working Committee Manickam Tagore questioned the demand raised by Patra.
“Why do Godse’s grandsons want the Nehru letter from the Nehru family? What is the sudden interest? We all know that Sanghis spread lies and fake stories about Nehruji,” he wrote on social media platform ‘X’, formerly Twitter.