NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on the Union Government after a Lok Sabha reply confirmed that no documents related to Jawaharlal Nehru were missing from the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) during its annual inspection, asking whether the Centre would now issue an apology over the controversy surrounding the former prime minister’s papers.
The issue has been politically sensitive, with repeated claims and counter-claims over access to Nehru’s personal correspondence and the handling of archival material linked to India’s first Prime Minister.
In September, Rizwan Kadri, a member of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library Society, had written to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi seeking physical or digital access to private papers relating to Nehru that are believed to be in her possession.
The request had reignited a long-running debate over whether historically significant documents should remain in private custody or be made accessible through the national archive.
Sharing the government’s written reply in the Lok Sabha, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the parliamentary response had effectively put the matter to rest.
Quoting the document, Ramesh pointed out that the government had clearly said: “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.”
Referring to the statement, Ramesh asked pointedly on social media X: “The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming?”
The Centre told Parliament on Monday that its latest annual inspection of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library had found no records linked to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to be missing.
The information was provided by Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha by BJP MP Sambit Patra.
The controversy has centred on a collection of Nehru’s private correspondence, including letters exchanged with national and international figures, which historians say offer crucial insights into India’s early years as an independent nation.
While the BJP has repeatedly questioned why certain documents are not publicly accessible, the Congress maintains that there is no evidence of any missing records from the PMML’s custody.