Nehru Memorial Museum's name changed, Congress and BJP trade barbs

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society housed in Teen Murti Bhavan premises has been renamed by the government as Prime Ministers' Museum and Library Society, prompting sharp reactions from the Congress which termed it as a "petty act".

The move to rename the Society comes nearly a year after the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was inaugurated on the premises of the Teen Murti Bhavan, which served as the official residence of first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society (NMML), it was resolved to change its name, the Culture Ministry said on Friday.

The meeting was presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the vice president of the Society, it said.

In his address at the meeting, Singh "welcomed the proposal for change in name", since in its new form the institution exhibits the contributions of all prime ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi and their responses to various challenges faced by them, the ministry said in its statement.

Describing prime ministers as an institution and comparing the journey of various prime ministers to the varied colours of a rainbow, Singh emphasised that "all the colours of a rainbow have to be proportionately represented in order to make it beautiful".

"Thus the resolution has given a new name, respect to all our previous prime ministers and is democratic in content," it said.

The Congress termed it as an act of "vengeance", asserting that legacies don't get erased by renaming buildings.

The BJP on Friday hit back at the Congress over its remarks on the renaming of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, saying the party does not hesitate to insult even its own leaders who served as prime minister of the country.

In a series of tweets, Nadda said, "Classic example of political indigestion -- the inability to accept a simple fact that there are leaders beyond one dynasty who have served and built our nation".

Every prime minister has been given respect in the prime ministers' museum and the section relating to the first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, has not been altered, he said.