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‘Nehru even in their dreams’: Congress after govt seeks papers from Sonia Gandhi
Congress MP Imran Masood said the government is indifferent towards issues like air pollution and falling rupee.
Congress MP Imran Masood on Thursday took a potshot at the BJP-led central government after it demanded Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to return 51 cartons of documents belonging to former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML).
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Highlighting issues such as air pollution in Delhi and other parts of north India and falling rupee value, Masood took a swipe at the central government and said, “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.”
Listen to what the Congress MP said:
Row around ‘Nehru papers’
The Nehru papers have been a flashpoint between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress, and a section within the PMML has been pushing for the "reclaiming" of these papers, which were taken back by Sonia Gandhi several years ago.
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After Nehru's death, the Teen Murti Bhawan, Nehru's official residence for 16 years, in central Delhi, became the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), housing a rich collection of books and rare records. The NMML was renamed Prime Ministers' Museum and Library in 2023.
Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said these papers were "handed over officially in 2008, on request", with records and catalogues maintained by PMML.
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"In reality, 51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers were formally taken back by the family in 2008 from the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (then NMML). Their location is known. Hence, they are 'not missing'," the Union minister said.
Seeking the return of the papers in question, the government on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for keeping "51 cartons of Jawaharlal Nehru papers" and sought their return to Prime Ministers' Museum and Library (PMML) so that scholars and Parliament can access the crucial historical records of 'Nehruvian' times, asserting that these documents "belong in public archives, not behind closed doors".
Shekhawat said that scholars, researchers, students and citizens "have a right to access original documentary sources to arrive at a truthful and balanced understanding" of Jawaharlal Nehru's life and times.
"On one hand, we are being asked not to debate the blunders of that era. On the other hand, primary source material that could enable informed debate is kept out of public access.
"This contradiction cannot be ignored. This is no ordinary matter. History cannot be curated selectively. Transparency is the foundation of democracy and archival openness is its moral obligation, which Mrs Gandhi and the 'family' need to uphold," he argued.
