Govt Wants Museum for All PMs at Teen Murti Complex, Congress Cries 'Attempt at Diluting Nehru's Legacy'

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday announced that a museum for all former prime ministers of the country would be built at the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, which currently houses the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML). The decision has of course irked the Congress, some of whose leaders were present at the NMML meeting that ended with the announcement.

Rajnath Singh, who chaired the 43rd annual general meeting of the NMML, assured those who attended the meeting that the move is not an attempt to dilute the legacy of India's first prime minister, who was in the office for 17 years.

On the other hand, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Karan Singh and Jairam Ramesh, historian Nayonjot Lahiri and economist Nitin Desai took strong objection to the idea.

“There was opposition from five people, who had some points to make regarding Nehru’s legacy. They also argued about working towards the betterment of the museum and some suggested that the new museum should be taken out of the NMML enclosure, while there were others who said that the museum can stay here but NMML should not be setting up the new museum,” said NMML director, Shakti Sinha.

However, a decision is yet to be taken whether a separate society will be formed for the museum or rules of the NMML will be changed to facilitate the construction of the new structure.

Fifteen of attendees supported the idea of a Prime Ministers’ museum. Minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma, Swapan Dasgupta, Surya Prakash, MJ Akbar and four other government nominees voted in favour of the decision.

"We will build a museum for all prime ministers in the 25-acre estate (Teen Murti Bhavan complex). This will be separate from the existing structure of the Nehru Memorial," Sinha told reporters after the two-hour meeting.

He added, “We will retain Nehru’s legacy and make the museum better. After taking note of the objections, the concept note will be reworked and we will meet again to discuss the same.”

Sinha said Rs 280 crore has already been sanctioned by the central government for the construction of the museum for all prime ministers.

With inputs from PTI