Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society renamed as Prime Ministers Museum and Library Society’; opposition slams the move.
The Ministry of Culture on Friday announced that the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society, an autonomous body under the Government of India, would be renamed as the ‘Prime Ministers Museum and Library Society’.
The decision to rename the institution without the name of Nehru was taken in a special meeting presided over by Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh who is the current Vice-President of the Society.
The statement said that the decision was taken as the NMML Executive Council felt that the name should reflect the present activities of the institution which now also “include a ‘Sangrahalaya’ (Museum) depicting the collective journey of democracy in Independent India and highlighting the contribution of each Prime Minister in nation-building”.
The proposal was welcomed by the Defence Minister as it acknowledges the contributions of all Prime Ministers, which includes from PM Jawaharlal Nehru to current PM Narendra Modi.
The statement said, “the resolution has given a new name, respect to all our previous prime ministers and is democratic in content.”
The renaming of the institution i.e., the removal of Nehru from the name has sparked a political controversy from the opposition party. The opposition has called it a petty act.
Taking to the microblogging site Twitter, Congress President MallikarjunKharge Congress accused the BJP stating the ones who do not have a history are trying to remove the history of others.
He said, such efforts cannot take away the role Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru played as the architect of modern India and the fearless guardian of democracy.
“This only shows the low mentality and dictatorial attitude of BJP-RSS,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary (communication) Jairam Ramesh in a direct jibe at Prime Minister Modi said, “Pettiness & Vengeance, thy name is Modi.”
He tweeted, “For over 59 years Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) has been a global intellectual landmark and treasure house of books & archives. It will henceforth be called Prime Ministers Museum & Society. What won’t Mr. Modi do to distort, disparage and destroy the name & legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state. A small, small man overburdened by his insecurities is the self-styled Vishwaguru.”
BJP president, J.P. Nadda, in response to the Tweet by the Congress President said, “Classic example of political indigestion, the inability to accept a simple fact that there are leaders from beyond one dynasty who have served and built our nation”.
Mr. Nadda in another tweet of his series of tweets stated that “Congress’ approach to this issue is ironical considering their party’s only contribution is to erase the legacies of all previous PMs to ensure that only the legacy of one family survives”.
He added that in PM Sangrahalaya, all Prime Ministers “got respect”, and that the section dedicated to India’s first PM Nehru had not been altered.
PM Modi had proposed 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 in November 25, 2016 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.
What's Your Reaction?
