New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday raised questions against the Congress over its alleged withdrawal of Jawaharlal Nehru’s 2008 letter on Sonia Gandhi’s order from the Prime Minister Memorial Library (PMML). The party demanded the release of letters written by India’s first Prime Minister to Edwina Mountbatten, Jaiprakash Narayan and others.
“What interests me is that Nehruji’s letters to Edwina Mountbatten need to be censored and that Lopu Rahul will help retrieve the letters between Nehru and Edwina!” Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra posted on X.
“The then UPA president Sonia Gandhi took away 51 cartoons of Nehru’s letters to various personalities including “EDWINA MOUNTBATTEN” from what is today the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library and the former Nehru Museum and Library !” he added.
Also read: PM Memorial Letter to Rahul Gandhi: ‘Return Nehru’s letter to Edwina Mountbatten’
Patra also raised the issue in the Lok Sabha and at press conferences, demanding an answer from the elder party.
“This is a historical heritage (a collection of letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru) and is not the property of any family… The country wants to know about Nehruji and Lady Mountbatten, Jagjivan Ram and Jayapurakar What are the contents of the letters between Xu and Narayan? …What are the contents of these letters that the first family believes should not be made public?
“Must be some objectionable content”
Ahead of the BJP’s reaction, PMML member Rizwan Qadri said he had written to Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi asking him to return the letters. He said his decision came after a similar request was made to Sonia Gandhi in September this year but received no response.
“As I have not heard back from her, I have requested the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, to help recover these materials. I have also urged him to consider these documents as part of the country’s heritage and an important aspect of its history. Until we can view these materials, but it is not possible to determine why they were removed.
Announcing the contents of the letters, Qadri said: “They include important letters between General Jawaharlal Nehru and Lady Mountbatten, as well as correspondence with Govind Balabha Pant, Jayaprakash Narendra Modi Correspondence between Rayan et al.
Congress has yet to comment on the matter.
