New Delhi, Jun 16: The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society housed in Teen Murti Bhavan premises here have been renamed by the government as Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society, prompting sharp reactions from the Congress which termed it as a ”petty act”.
The move to rename the Society comes nearly a year after the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was inaugurated on the premises of the Teen Murti Bhavan, which served as the official residence of the first prime minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru.
In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society (NMML), it was resolved to change its name, the Culture Ministry said on Friday.
The meeting was presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the vice president of the Society, it said.
In his address at the meeting, Singh ”welcomed the proposal for change in the name”, since in its new form the institution exhibits the contributions of all prime ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi and their responses to various challenges faced by them, the ministry said in its statement.
Describing prime ministers as an institution and comparing the journey of various prime ministers to the varied colours of a rainbow, Singh emphasised that ”all the colours of a rainbow have to be proportionately represented in order to make it beautiful”.
”Thus the resolution has given a new name, respect to all our previous prime ministers and is democratic in content,” it said.
The Congress termed it as an act of ”vengeance”, asserting that legacies don't get erased by renaming buildings.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, ”Pettiness & Vengeance, thy name is Modi. 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 Modi do to distort, disparage and destroy the name & legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state? A small man overburdened by his insecurities is the self-styled Vishwaguru,” Ramesh said.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said the Teen Murti Bhavan is a historic monument where India's destiny was crafted.
”The architect of India's post-independence glory was our first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru. Erasing his legacy by changing the name of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library is a petty act, which only further diminishes the stature of the current regime,” Venugopal said on Twitter.
Congress MP Manish Tewari also hit out at the government, saying legacies don't get erased by renaming buildings. ”I wish those who want to erase Jawahar Lal Nehru's contribution to freedom struggle & building of Modern India would once read Discovery of India & Glimpses of World History to fathom the depth of Nehru,” he said on Twitter.
