New Delhi: Claims that “51 boxes of Jawaharlal Nehru papers” were officially taken back by the “family” from the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library (then Nehru Memorial Museum and Library) in 2008, Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat lashed out at the Congress, asking its senior leader Sonia Gandhi, “Why were these papers not returned despite repeated reminders from PMML, including the recent reminders in January and July this year?”Pointing out that Gandhi herself had confirmed in writing that these papers were with her and promised to “cooperate” in the matter, Shekhawat urged Gandhi to fulfill her promise and return these papers to PMML.Shekhawat’s sharp rebuke came a day after Congress spokesperson and senior leader Jairam Ramesh asked, “Will there be an apology?”, citing the government’s response to a question in Lok Sabha that no papers related to Jawaharlal Nehru were found missing during the annual inspection of PMML.“In fact, 51 boxes of Jawaharlal Nehru papers were officially taken back from the family by the PMML (then Nehru Memorial Museum and Library) in 2008. Their location is known. Therefore, they are ‘not missing’,” Shekhawat said in a post on X.“These are not private family papers. They relate to the first Prime Minister of India and are part of our national historical records. Such papers belong in public archives and not behind closed doors,” Shekhawat said in a post on X.The culture ministry cited a letter dated April 29, 2008, demanding that Gandhi withdraw all private family letters and notes written by former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. Accordingly, the papers were sent to Gandhi.“I respectfully request Sonia Gandhi ji to explain to the country: What is being withheld? What is being hidden?,” Shekhawat asked, saying that the “excuses” given by Sonia for not returning these papers are “unsustainable”.“History cannot be selectively curated,” Shekhawat said, adding that “transparency is the foundation of democracy and archival openness is its moral obligation that Mrs Gandhi and the ‘family’ must uphold.”Shekhawat, in his response to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh’s contribution, said: “The truth presented to the Lok Sabha is clear and on record.” “The Nehru Papers were published in 2008 during the UPA period when public institutions were often treated as family preserves,” he said.“In fact, it would be more appropriate if you asked Sonia Gandhi to fulfill her obligation and return these papers to PMML so that scholars, citizens and Parliament can have access to these important historical records and the truth of the ‘Nehruvian’ period can be objectively examined,” Shekhawat told Ramesh.
