Congress seeks apology after govt says 'no Nehru papers missing from PMML'

The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at the government over its reply to a question in the Lok Sabha that no documents related to Jawaharlal Nehru were missing from the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) during its annual inspection, asking if there would be an apology forthcoming.

In September, Rizwan Kadri, a member of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) Society, had 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.

Sharing the reply of the government in the Lok Sabha, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?"  The government informed Parliament on Monday that no documents related to the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, have been found missing from PMML during its annual inspection this year.

Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha by BJP MP Sambit Patra.

The minister was 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.

It was also asked whether "certain documents related to India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, have been found missing" from the museum during the annual inspection in 2025.

"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," the reply stated.

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.

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.