Museum for former prime ministers to be set up in Teen Murti Bhavan

A museum for all former prime ministers of the country will be built in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, which houses the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) director Shakti Sinha said today.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who chaired the 43rd annual general meeting of the NMML today, assured those who attended the meeting that the move is not an attempt to dilute the legacy of India's first prime minister, who was in the office for 17 years.

The iconic Teen Murti Bhavan in the capital was the official residence of Nehru and the NMML at the premises was set up in his memory as an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.

"We will build a museum for all prime ministers in the 25 acre estate (Teen Murti Bhavan complex). This will be separate from the existing structure of the Nehru Memorial," Sinha told reporters after a two-hour meeting.

Sinha said Rs 280 crore has already been sanctioned by the central government for the construction of the museum for all prime ministers.

"This will be a modern technologically advanced museum and it will be constructed with the help of international consultants," he said, adding the present structure is located just on a half an acre land plot.

Sources said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who attended the meeting, has opposed the move saying it would dilute the legacy of Nehru and suggested the memorial for all prime ministers should not be constructed in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex but elsewhere.

Responding to Kharge, the home minister said the question of diluting the legacy of Nehru does not arise at all and no one can do that as the contribution of country's first prime minister was unparalleled, sources said.

However, a decision is yet to be taken whether a separate society will be formed for the museum or rules of the NMML will be changed to facilitate the construction of the new structure.

Sources said it is strongly felt by the NDA government that the contribution and story of India's executive, as represented by the Prime Ministers, is told for the benefit of future generations.

Under the supervision of the NMML Society, which has the Prime Minister as its head, the NMML council has been managing the overall affairs of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

The landmark Teen Murti Estate, however, belongs to the government and there is a view that setting up a museum on prime ministers would be of great service to the future generations and those interested in the history of independent India, souces said.