“PM not a person but an institution…”: Arjun Munda amid museum renaming row 

New Delhi [India], August 16 (ANI): Amid the renaming row over the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library to Prime Ministers’ Memorial Museum and Library, Union Minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday said that the museum has been dedicated to all the PMs who have served this nation adding that PM is not a person but an institution. 

Speaking to ANI, Arjun Munda said, “This country belongs to everyone. The country is not through a person but through a system and institution. This is a democracy. PM is not a person but an institution. So, the Museum has been dedicated to all the PMs who served this nation.”

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress leader Ashok Chavan said that the names of the institutions should not change according to the change in politics.

“Changing names is now a daily thing. In my opinion, names should not change according to the change in politics. Build something new and name them. I don’t think there’s any appreciation in people about changing the names of institutions,” he said. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) Vice Chairman of Executive Council, A Surya Prakash said the new museum showcases the achievements and the contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru to the nation, adding that those doubtful about the same should visit the museum. 

“Anyone visiting the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) can see how we have showcased Nehru, his temples of modern India, the Hirakud Dam, Nagarajuna Sagar Dam, his idea of setting up institutes of technology, and Planning Commission in his 17-year tenure as PM at the Teen Murti Bhavan,” he said. 

“We have documented and showcased his phenomenal and exemplary body of work that went into nation-building. I would request anyone, who has any doubts about how we have showcased Nehru, to come and take a look at the museum today,” he added. 

Hitting out at the Centre over the official renaming of the Nehru Memorial Museum in the national capital, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can never take away the gigantic contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru in the country’s freedom struggle.

“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 said. 

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) was officially renamed the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) by the Centre on Monday.

The decision to rename the museum was taken in June at a special meeting of the Memorial Museum and Library Society, which was presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is also the vice-president of the Society.

The project was approved by Executive Council, NMML in its 162nd meeting held in November 2016. The Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was opened to the public on April 21, last year.