In a surprising turn of events, a member of the Prime Ministers Museum & Library, or PMML, has written to Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi seeking return of letters written and received by former PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, which are reportedly in the custody of Sonia Gandhi. According to an Indian Express report, in 2008, Sonia Gandhi assigned a representative to remove a significant portion of the ‘donated’ Jawaharlal Nehru papers from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), now known as PMML.

The documents include Nehru’s correspondence with Edwina Mountbatten, Albert Einstein, Aruna Asaf Ali, Jayaprakash Narayan, Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Babu Jagjivan Ram and Govind Ballabh Pant, said Ahmedabad-based historian Rizwan Kadri in his letter to Rahul Gandhi. Although PMML members had previously raised concerns about the missing Nehru papers on multiple occasions, it was during the 2024 AGM that the minutes explicitly recorded the former UPA chairperson’s removal of 51 cartons from the donated collection, reported the IE.

In a letter dated September 9, addressed to Sonia Gandhi, Kadri emphasized the importance of keeping these records accessible to support a thorough understanding of the nation’s history. He urged Sonia Gandhi to either return the papers, share copies, or provide digitized access to them.

In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society in June 2023, it was decided to change its name to Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mooted the idea of setting up a museum dedicated to all the Prime Ministers of India on Teen Murti Premises, New Delhi in 2016. 

The Executive Council, NMML had in its 162nd meeting held on 25-11-2016 had approved the construction of the Museum of all Prime Ministers in the Teen Murti Estate. The project was completed and the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was opened to the public on 21st April 2022.