NEW DELHI: Days after the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) was officially renamed as the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) Society, Congress launched a broadside against PM Modi saying that Nehru’s “gigantic” contributions to the country and the freedom movement cannot be taken away merely by changing the name.
Speaking to this newspaper, Congress MP Manickam Tagore said Modi is attempting to erase Nehru’s legacy. “The RSS-BJP’s hatred for Nehru is known. Why can’t they build a separate memorial for all PMs? This museum was inaugurated by then President S Radhakrishnan and approved by PM Lal Bahadur Shastri in 1964. They cannot erase Nehru’s name from the hearts of the people. He is loved across India,” said Tagore.
The Nehru Memorial Museum was set up in 1964 on Nehru’s 75th birth anniversary. The decision to change the name was taken during a special meeting of the NMML Society in June this year. The meeting was presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the vice-president of the Society. The PMML Society was opened to the public on April 21 last year. The 10,975.36 sqm museum, built at a cost of `271 crore, showcases the life and contribution of 14 prime ministers, including Modi.
The project, which was approved in 2016, has sparked a row after vehement protests from Congress and some other members of NMML for ‘diluting Nehru’s legacy’ by making it an all-inclusive club. The NMML is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture. The government has gone ahead with the museum’s construction in 2018, even after former PM Manmohan Singh wrote a letter to Modi urging him not to change the character of NMML, which is known for its academic excellence.
The NMML was also in the eye of a storm in 2018 after the Centre removed three members, who were critical of the new museum. Accusing PM Modi of having “a single-point agenda of denying, distorting, defaming and destroying Nehru and the Nehruvian legacy,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “From today, an iconic institution gets a new name... Modi possesses a huge bundle of fears, complexes and insecurities, especially when it comes to our first and longest-serving PM.”
Nehru Memorial Museum
The Nehru Memorial Museum was set up in 1964 on Nehru’s 75th birth anniversary. Housed within the Teen Murti House complex in Delhi, it is an autonomous institution under the Indian Ministry of Culture. The decision to change the name was taken during a special meeting of the NMML Society in June this year.