‘Nehruji known for his work, not just name’: Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP on decision to rename NMML  

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru is known for the work he did and not just for his name. Gandhi’s comments came days after the Modi government decided to rename the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) located in New Delhi to the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library Society (PMML). 

The decision was taken on August 15 “in tune with the democratization and diversification of the remit of the society”, according to the Vice-chairman of Prime Minister’s Museum and Library Society’s executive council in a post on X formerly Twitter. Commenting on this decision, Rahul Gandhi said: "Nehru ji is known for the work he did, and not just his name”.

Not only Gandhi, Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision. Ramesh said that Modi “has had a single-point agenda of denying, distorting, defaming and destroying Nehru and the Nehruvian legacy”. The senior Congress leader said that the government “have removed N and replaced it with P”, which stands for pettiness and peeve.

He added that Modi cannot ever run down the former Prime Minister’s contribution to the freedom movement and his achievements in laying the foundation of a “democratic, secular, scientific and liberal” India.

Congress leader and spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said that Nehru was laid the foundation of modern India. “Pandit Nehru built and laid the foundation of modern India. He built the IIMs, AIIMS, IITs, ISRO and institutions that have kept liberal democracy alive in this country,” Shrinate was quoted by PTI as saying.

Commenting on Jairam Ramesh's comments against PM Modi, senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “There is a fundamental difference between the Congress party and Jairam Ramesh and PM Modi. They (Congress) think that only Nehruji and his family matter. Narendra Modi has given a respectable place to all the Prime Ministers of the country in the museum". 

Meanwhile, PMML Vice Chairman Executive Council KA Surya Prakash on Wednesday said the new museum showcases Jawaharlal Nehru's achievements and contributions to the nation. Prakash added that anyone who has any doubts should see it for themselves. Some of Nehru's contributions displayed at the PMML include the Hirakud dam, the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, and his idea of setting up the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), he said. 

The decision to rename the NMML society was taken during a special meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in mid-June. Singh is the vice chairman of the NMML society. 

The Ministry of Culture said at the time that with the change in the name, the museum will trace the efforts of our Prime Ministers in navigating India through several challenges.

"Housed in a new building the museum then goes on to tell the story of how our Prime Ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured the all-round progress of the country. It recognises all the Prime Ministers, thereby democratising the institutional memory," Ministry of Culture said at the time.

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