'Whereabouts Are Known': Centre Clarifies Nehru's Papers Not 'Missing' But With Sonia Gandhi; Seeks Return

New Delhi: The Ministry of Culture on Wednesday clarified that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's private papers can't be termed as "missing" from the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) as their "whereabouts are known", which is with former Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The clarifications follow Congress' pushback against the Centre after Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat's written reply to BJP MP Sambit Patra's question about whether Nehru's letters are missing from PMML. 

Gajendra Singh Shekhwat replied that "no document related to the first PM for the country is missing from PMML". This invited Congress to mount an attack on the centre, demanding an apology from the BJP government for alleging that Sonia Gandhi possesses Nehru's private letters and asking her to return them.

Ministry of Culture, in a post on X today, clarified that the papers can't be termed as "missing" as their whereabouts are known and sought for their return, saying that they are "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. PMML has been in continuous correspondence with the office of Smt Sonia Gandhi since then for the return of these papers, including the letters from PMML to Smt Sonia Gandhi dated January 28, 2025 and July 3, 2025," the Ministry of Culture said.

Therefore, the Nehru Papers are not "missing" from PMML as their whereabouts are known. These documents, relating to the first Prime Minister of India, form part of the nation's documentary heritage and not a private property. Their custody with PMML and access to citizens and scholars for reserch is vital," the Ministry added. 

Earlier, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh had demanded an apology from the Government after the Ministry of Culture replied that no papers were "missing" from the PMML.  

"The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?," he said. 

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