BJP Demands Gandhi Family Return Nehru's Historical Correspondence
The BJP is calling on Rahul and Sonia Gandhi to return 51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru's correspondence to the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is demanding that Rahul Gandhi and the Gandhi family return 51 cartons of correspondence belonging to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML). BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan asserted that the documents, which include letters to Edwina Mountbatten and other prominent figures, are part of India's documentary heritage rather than private property.
The BJP alleges that Sonia Gandhi withdrew the documents in May 2008 during the United Progressive Alliance government's tenure, despite the materials being donated to the institution in 1971. This public demand follows formal requests made in September 2024 and 2025 by Rizwan Kadri, a member of the PMML Society, who sought the return or digitization of the records for scholarly research.
The Union Ministry of Culture confirmed that the papers were returned to Sonia Gandhi in 2008 following a request from her representative, M V Rajan. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated that no documents related to the first Prime Minister are missing from the PMML, as their whereabouts are known. The Ministry added that the PMML has remained in continuous correspondence with Sonia Gandhi's office to secure the return of the materials.
