Fifty-one cartons of 'missing' documents from the desk of Jawaharlal Nehru – papers the government has insisted must be stored in the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library, a centrally-maintained national archive of past heads of state – are the latest flashpoint between the BJP and Congress.
The row broke Monday after the BJP's Sambit Patra asked a question in the Lok Sabha; the MP from Odisha's Puri wrote to the Culture Ministry to ask if "certain documents related to India's first Prime Minister have been found missing" from the museum and if these were "illegally removed".
The ministry's response – "no documents related to India's first Prime Minister have been found missing" – was flagged by the Congress as an inadvertent own goal by the ruling party.
"The truth was finally revealed…" the Congress' Jairam Ramesh exulted on X Tuesday, attaching screenshots of the question and its answer, "Will there be an apology forthcoming?"
The truth was finally revealed in the Lok Sabha yesterday. Will there be an apology forthcoming? pic.twitter.com/lRNoT4Ns6X
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 16, 2025
The minister in-charge, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, responded Wednesday with a clarification.
The papers, he declared, couldn't be classified as 'missing' because the government knew where they are – they are with senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, who withdrew the cartons on ground they constitute the Gandhi family's private and personal papers.
"Nehru's papers are not 'missing'… these papers were handed over officially in 2008, on request, with records and catalogues maintained by the PMML. What does require an answer is this – why have these papers not been returned despite multiple reminders…" Shekhawat asked on X.
Nehru Papers are not “missing” from PMML.
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (@gssjodhpur) December 17, 2025
“Missing” entails that the whereabouts are unknown.
In reality, 51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers were formally taken back by the family in 2008 from Prime Ministers Museum and Library (then NMML). Their location is known. Hence, they…
"I respectfully ask Sonia Gandhiji to explain to the country. What is being withheld? What is being hidden? The excuses for not returning these papers are not tenable. The point is – why are important historical documents still outside a public archive?"
"These are not private family papers. They relate to the first Prime Minister of India and form part of our national historical record. Such papers belong in public archives, not behind closed doors," the BJP leader declared, claiming, "History cannot be curated selectively."
Sonia Gandhi has not yet commented on being called out by Shekhawat.
The Congress has moved to dismiss the BJP's Nehru papers demand, pointing instead to more critical governance issues, including the air pollution crisis in Delhi and the rupee-dollar link.
"They have nothing left other than Nehru… even in their dreams, Nehru appears. Breathing is becoming difficult in Delhi, the rupee is weakening against the dollar, and the Indian economy is declining, yet they are not concerned about these issues," Congress MP Imran Masood said.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Central Government asks Congress Leader Sonia Gandhi to return 51 cartons of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru's papers, Congress MP Imran Masood says, "... They have nothing left other than Nehru. Even in their dreams, Nehru appears. Breathing is becoming difficult… pic.twitter.com/yJHIVOeMIb
— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2025
Nehru's legacy is an oft-used weapon in the BJP's arsenal against the Congress, particularly in reference to the India-China border issue and the country's foreign policy in general.
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More recent attack points include allegations Nehru forced the deletion of stanzas from India's national song – 'Vande Mataram' – to appease the Muslim community.
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Those allegations have been rubbished by the Congress, for whom an exasperated Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said last week, "Whether 999 or 9,999, make a list (of complaints against Nehru) … let us speak about them and end it. Then we can talk about unemployment and price rise."
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