Ignoring Cong objection, govt lays stone for museum of prime ministers at Teen Murti

Ravi S.Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 15

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Notwithstanding objections by the Opposition Congress, the BJP-led NDA government on Monday laid the foundation stone for 'Prime Ministers of India museum' at Teen Murti Estate -- the official residence of country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

The move will certainly touch Congress' raw nerve with a possibility of deepening of bad blood with the BJP, leading up to the forthcoming Assembly elections in the five states this year, the General Elections next April-May.

Laying the foundation stone, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said the proposed museum will be constructed on 10,975 sq metre, and the project will be completed in a year.

He said the museum will be dedicated to all Prime Ministers, including Narendra Modi, and will cover the works done during their tenure. 

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had written a letter to PM Modi last month expressing concerns over the government's move to change the "nature and character  of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library ( NMML) housed in the Teen Murti Complex".

He had urged Modi to leave complex "undisturbed" reasoning that the present museum commemorated country's history and heritage.

Singh noted: "I recall that during the six-year tenure of Atal Bihar Vajpayee ji as Prime Minister, there was absolutely no attempt to change the nature and character of the NMML and the Teen Murti Complex in any way. But sadly that it seems to be part of the agenda of Government of India now."

Structurally, the proposed museum will have a basement, ground floor and a first floor, each of them housing galleries where works and lives related to former Prime Ministers will be displayed. The building will be designed in such a way that the Ashok Chakra with its 24 spokes will be prominently centre-staged.

Sharma said, "Currently, we have memorials dedicated to only three Prime Ministers of India -- Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi," and added it will accommodate future PMs too.

The museum will depict modern Indian through the collections related to each Prime Minister.

Sharma clarified that the existing NMML on 2 acres in the Estate will not be tampered with. There should be no controversy over the ownership of the land on which the museum building will be constructed, he added.

"The land belongs to the government and while some of it has been given to NMML, 23 acre is still left and we have decided to use  it," he added.