NEW DELHI: Anguished over moves to "revamp" the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, Congress today came down heavily on the Narendra Modi government accusing it of "subverting and diluting" the essential spirit and character of the symbol of national struggle.
"Devoid of any legacy that comprises of the building of our nation, the RSS and the BJP are playing a diabolical game of rewriting and misappropriating our rich and proud heritage of struggle for Independence," party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said in a strongly worded statement.
He noted that the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) stands testimony to and symbolises national struggle against colonial rule as also our evolution as a sovereign, democratic and secular nation in the years following Independence.
"Any attempts by the BJP, the RSS and Narendra Modi to diminish and downplay the legacy of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of Independent India and one of the greatest sons of the country is not going to hold water with the people of our country," he said.
Surjewala insisted the lame alibi of making the museum "contemporary and relevant to governance in present times", being put forth by the government are self-contradictory.
"Museums are supposed to be about the past and history and not showcases for publicising the ruling dispensation," he said, adding that the NMML has through the decades remained a premier institution for researchers, students and common people from around the world.
Noting that the Museum has indeed emerged as a centre of excellence in showcasing India's immediate history preceding Independence, he said, attempts by "self-serving individuals and organisations to subvert its character are nothing but anti-national exercises aimed at unscrupulously trying to find a bearing where none exists."
"The Indian National Congress, as indeed the people of this country will oppose such moves tooth and nail", he added.