Nehru's Name Dropped From NMML Society, to be called Prime Ministers Museum and Library

A year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Prime Ministers Museum at the Teen Murti complex, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society changed the name of the complex to Prime Ministers Museum and Society.

The complex was the official residence of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Nehru's name was dropped in a meeting of the NMML Society on Thursday. The meeting was presided by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the vice-president of the society. PM Modi is the chairman of the society, while ministers like Amit Shah, Anurag Thakur, and Nirmala Sitharaman are included in its 29 members.

Congress criticised the decision and called out PM Modi for dropping Nehru's name.

"Pettiness and vengeance, thy name is Modi. For over 59 years, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) has been a global intellectual landmark and treasure house of books and archives. It will henceforth be called Prime Ministers Museum and Society. What won't Mr Modi do to distort, disparage and destroy the name and legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state? A small, small man overburdened by his insecurities is the self-styled Vishwaguru," Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

Teen Murti House was built in 1929-30; it was part of Edwin Lutyens' imperial capital.

As per Indian Express, "In August 1948, it became the official residence of independent India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, who lived there for 16 years until his death on May 27, 1964. Soon after, the government decided that the Teen Murti House should be dedicated to him and house a museum and a library."

The idea of setting up a museum dedicated to all PMs was given by PM Modi in 2016. At the time, Congress strongly opposed replacing the Nehru Memorial Museum with a Prime Minister's museum.

In his address at the meeting, Rajnath Singh welcomed the proposal to change the name of the institution.

"The executive council subsequently felt that the name of the institution should reflect the present activities, which now also include a sangrahalaya depicting the collective journey of democracy in independent India, highlighting the contribution of each Prime Minister in nation-building."