The government on Friday renamed the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society, drawing a sharp reaction from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

The decision to rename the society was taken at a special meeting, presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is the Vice-President of the society.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mooted the idea of setting up a museum dedicated to all the Prime Ministers of India on Teen Murti Premises, New Delhi in 2016. The Executive Council, NMML had in its 162nd meeting held on 25 November 2016 approved the construction of the museum of all Prime Ministers in the Teen Murti Estate. The project was completed and the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was opened to the public on 21 April 2022.

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 and highlighting the contribution of each Prime Minister in nation-building.

The museum is a seamless blend that begins at the renovated and refurbished Nehru Museum building, now completely updated with technologically advanced displays on the life and contribution of Shri Jawaharlal Nehru.

Housed in a new building the museum then goes on to tell the story of how Prime Ministers navigated the nation through various challenges and ensured the all-round progress of the country. Thus, it recognises all the Prime Ministers, thereby democratising the institutional memory.

Executive Council Chairman Nripendra Misra, in his welcome address, explained the need for a change in name by emphasising that the Prime Ministers’ Museum expresses the nation’s deep commitment to democracy and so the name of the institution should reflect its new form.

Rajnath Singh welcomed the proposal for a 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. Describing Prime Ministers as an institution and comparing the journey of various prime ministers to the varied colours of a rainbow, he underlined 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 previous prime ministers and is democratic in content.

But the Congress was unhappy with party president Mallikarjun Kharge hitting out at the government over renaming of the society, calling it a ”petty act” and asserting that legacies don’t get erased by renaming buildings.

Reacting to the development, he said this shows the ”low mentality and dictatorial attitude” of the BJP-RSS as they can never reduce the huge contribution of Nehru, whom he described as the architect of modern India.

”Those who do not have any history, they have gone to erase the history of others. The ill-fated attempt to change the name of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cannot belittle the personality of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India and fearless guardian of democracy,” Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.

”This only shows the low mentality and dictatorial attitude of BJP-RSS. The petty thinking of the Modi government cannot reduce the huge contribution of ‘Hind ke Jawahar’ towards India,” he said.