The renaming of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) as Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society, which came into effect from August 14, prompted sharp reaction from the Congress. Training his guns on the Prime Minister, Congress general secretary and veteran leader Jairam Ramesh said Narendra Modi had a “single point agenda of denying, distorting, defaming and destroying Nehru and the Nehruvian legacy”.
“Modi possesses a huge bundle of fears, complexes and insecurities, especially when it comes to our first and longest serving Prime Minister…He has erased N and put P instead. That P is really for pettiness and peeve,” Ramesh posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Calling the move to rename NMML an assault on Nehru’s legacy, Ramesh said the former PM’s gigantic contributions in the freedom movement cannot be erased.
“He (Modi) can never take away Nehru’s gigantic contributions in the freedom movement and his towering achievements in building the democratic, secular, scientific and liberal foundations of the Indian nation-state, all of which are now under assault by Modi and his drumbeaters,” the Congress MP said.
“Despite the relentless assault, Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy will live on for the world to see and he will continue to inspire generations to come,” he further said.
The renaming was officially announced by PMML vice-chairman A Surya Prakash on India’s Independence Day.
“Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) is now Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) Society w.e.f August 14, 2023- in tune with the democratisation and diversification of the remit of the society,” Prakash tweeted along with a picture of the Teen Murti House.
The Teen Murti House was the official residence of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
The decision to change the name was taken in June in a meeting of the NMML Society. It was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the vice president of the society.