Defaming, destroying Nehruvian legacy: Congress on Centre renaming Nehru Memorial

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday, August 16, took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for renaming Nehru Memorial Museum and Library as Prime Minister's Museum and Library. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi possesses a huge bundle of fears, complexes and insecurities," Ramesh said as he condemned the Centre's decision of renaming the Nehru Memorial Museum. 

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) was officially renamed by the Centre effective Monday, August 14. The same was confirmed by PMML vice-chairman A Surya Prakash on X, (formerly known as Twitter.)

"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. Happy Independence Day!' the Tweet read. 

Deploring the government decision, Ramesh said, "Mr Modi possesses a huge bundle of fears, complexes and insecurities, especially when it comes to our first and longest serving Prime Minister. He has had a single-point agenda of denying, distorting, defaming and destroying Nehru and the Nehruvian legacy. He has erased N and put P instead. That P is really for pettiness." 

'Can never take Nehru's gigantic contributions'

Stepping up the offensive against PM Modi, the Congress leader added, "He 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 Mr Modi and his drumbeaters." 

Ramesh asserted that despite the 'relentless assault' on the legacy of the former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he will live on for the world to see and he will continue to inspire generations to come. 

The decision to rename NMML Society to PMML was taken during a special meeting in June. Subsequently, the Culture Ministry announced the resolve to rename the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society, keeping August 14 for the announcement.   

Former President S Radhakrishnan on the 75th birth anniversary of Nehru on November 14, 1964, dedicated the Teen Murti House, the official residence of the former PM until his death on May 27, 1964, to the nation and inaugurated the Nehru Memorial Museum. Two years later, the NMML Society was set up to manage the institution and has remained in charge since then.