‘Come to the museum, you will understand,' PM museum vice chairman on name change row
In mid-June, during a special meeting of the NMML Society, it was resolved to change its name to PMML Society.
A. Surya Prakash, Vice-Chairman of the Executive Council of Prime Ministers Museum & Library (PMML), which was formerly the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) and has been officially renamed on Wednesday, responding to Congress party's attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said if anyone had any doubts as to how the “Nehru question” has been handled, they should visit the museum.
Speaking to news agency ANI, Prakash spoke on the changes between the Nehru museum and the Prime Ministers' museum.
“If you have seen the Nehru museum earlier, you will get an idea of how the Nehru-Gandhi family, which was in charge of the institution for many years, had set up that museum. If we were to reflect on that, it would give you an idea on what kind of thinking they had projecting Nehru ji," Prakash said.
Prakash was responding to a question regarding the stark criticism by the Congress leaders and party members slamming Prime Minister Modi stating that Modi has only had the agendy of “denying, distorting, defaming and destroying” the Nehruvian legacy.
In mid-June, during a special meeting of the NMML Society, it was resolved to change its name to PMML Society.
Prakash added that if one to visit the Nehru museum today, “You will look at the Teen Murti Bhavan - how we have showcased Nehru, his temples of modern India, the Hirakud Dam, Nagarajuna Sagar Dam, his idea of setting up institutes of technology, Planning Commission - in the 17 years' tenure as the PM, the phenomenal work he did in various aspects of this nation's life, it is all showcased now.”
Further he urged anyone with doubts to visit the museum today to view how the change has been “handled”.
The decision to rename the library had earlier evoked sharp reactions from the Congress. The Teen Murti Bhavan had served as the official residence of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
“It will give you an idea of how we view Jawaharlal Nehru and we are very proud of that legacy, Nehru ji's contribution and we have done everything possible to showcase that to the people,” Prakash said.
Congress' criticism to Nehru museum name change
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, taking to Twitter on Wednesday said, "From today, an iconic institution gets a new name. The world renowned Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) becomes PMML—Prime Ministers' Memorial Museum and Library."
"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 [Modi] has erased N and put P instead. That P is really for pettiness and peeve," he added.
Ramesh further said that PM Modi could not take away former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's “gigantic” contributions in the freedom movement as well as his “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”.
He added, “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.”