Museum planned for all ex-PMs at Teen Murti

New Delhi: In a move that could trigger yet another controversy between the government and the Congress, the annual general meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh, which met here on Thursday, decided to set up a museum for all former Prime Ministers at the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, which incidentally also houses the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial.

After the meeting, NMML director Shakti Sinha said a decision was taken to construct a new museum for all former PMs at the 25-acre Teen Murti Bhavan complex. Mr Sinha also explained that the proposed new museum will be separate from the existing structure of the Nehru Memorial.

Officials also said no changes would be made in the existing museum of the country’s first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, at Teen Murti Bhavan. “There are no plans to make any changes in the existing museum of Jawaharlal Nehru at Teen Murti. The new complex will be entirely different. It’s just that the proposed museum for other PMs will come up in the same estate as it is over a vast 25-acre campus. All steps will be taken to ensure that Nehru’s legacy is in no way diluted,” an official said. The decision was taken after a two-hour meeting of the NMML, which is an autonomous institution under the culture ministry. Sources said NMML will soon set up an expert committee to identify the land within Teen Murti where the new museum would come up.

The Congress has earlier always opposed any move to make changes in the present Teen Murti Bhavan setup. Sources said the modalities, such as whether NMML or some other organisation would manage the new museum, were still being worked out. A Rs 280-crore budget for the new museum was cleared at Thursday’s meeting.