BJP Questions Censorship as Centre Requests Return of Nehru's Letters from Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Dec 16 (NationPress) The BJP on Monday scrutinized the 'censorship' surrounding various letters authored by India’s inaugural Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru directed to prominent international leaders. This query arose after the Prime Minister's Museum and Library (PMML) contacted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to request the return of a collection of Nehru’s historical letters.

These letters were previously restricted from public access in 2008 at the behest of Sonia Gandhi, then the chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). Since then, the documents have been privately stored.

Amit Malviya, who oversees the BJP's National Information & Technology Department and is co-in-charge of West Bengal, voiced his concerns on social media regarding this matter.

He posted on X on Monday, alleging that Sonia Gandhi had removed cartons containing letters from Jawaharlal Nehru. "It is reported that the former UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, allegedly took away 51 cartons of letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to various personalities, including Edwina Mountbatten."

He continued, "In a recent AGM of the PMML, a member, Shri Rizwan Kadri, urged Rahul Gandhi to assist in retrieving these letters from his mother, Sonia Gandhi."

Malviya expressed curiosity regarding Sonia Gandhi's decision to retain the letters. "What I find particularly intriguing is: what might Nehru ji have written to Edwina Mountbatten that warranted such censorship? And will Rahul Gandhi act to recover these letters?"

It is reported that the collection was originally transferred to the PMML (formerly known as the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library) in 1971 by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. It includes 51 boxes filled with personal correspondences of PM Nehru with some of the most significant figures of the 20th century. Notable correspondents include Albert Einstein, Jayaprakash Narayan, Edwina Mountbatten, Padmaja Naidu, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Aruna Asaf Ali, and Babu Jagjivan Ram.

"While we recognize that these documents hold personal importance for the Nehru family, the PMML believes that granting wider access to these historical materials would greatly benefit scholars and researchers. We would appreciate your assistance in exploring potential solutions," the PMML's letter states.

This letter to Rahul Gandhi follows an earlier communication sent to Sonia Gandhi in September 2024, wherein she was asked to return the documents for digitization. "In September 2024, I wrote to Sonia Gandhi requesting the return of the 51 cartons from approximately eight different sections, which were part of the Nehru collections at the Prime Ministers' Museum (formerly the Nehru Memorial). We either need these items returned, permission to scan them, or access to their scanned copies. This would facilitate scholarly research," stated Rizwan Kadri, historian and author.

Rizwan Kadri is one of the 29 members of the PMML Society, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.