Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 18: Congress MP Imran Masood on Thursday took a sharp dig at the BJP-led Central government over its demand that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi return 51 cartons of documents belonging to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML).
Reacting to the controversy, Masood said the ruling dispensation was obsessed with Nehru and had little else to talk about. Taking aim at the Centre, he remarked, “They have nothing left other than Nehru. Even in their dreams, Nehru appears. Breathing has become difficult in Delhi, air pollution has worsened across north India, the rupee is weakening against the dollar and the economy is declining, but these issues do not seem to concern them.”
The Nehru papers have emerged as a major flashpoint between the BJP and the Congress, with a section within the PMML seeking the ‘reclaiming’ of the documents, which were taken back by Sonia Gandhi several years ago. The government has maintained that the papers should be returned so they can be made accessible to scholars, researchers and Parliament.
After Jawaharlal Nehru’s death, his official residence, Teen Murti Bhawan in central Delhi, was converted into the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), which housed an extensive collection of books and rare records. In 2023, the NMML was renamed the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library.
Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated that the Nehru papers were “handed over officially in 2008, on request,” with proper records and catalogues maintained by the PMML. He clarified that “51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers were formally taken back by the family in 2008” and that their location is known, asserting that the documents are “not missing.”
On Wednesday, the Centre strongly criticised Sonia Gandhi for retaining the documents and called for their immediate return, arguing that the papers belong in public archives and not in private custody. The government said access to these historical records is essential for scholars and citizens to gain a balanced understanding of the Nehruvian era.
Emphasising transparency, Shekhawat said scholars, researchers, students and the public have a right to access original documentary sources. “On one hand, we are told not to debate the blunders of that era. On the other, primary source material that could enable informed debate is kept away from public access,” he said.
Stating that history cannot be curated selectively, the Union minister added that transparency is a cornerstone of democracy and archival openness its moral obligation, which, he said, Sonia Gandhi and the Nehru family must uphold.