Congress, BJP in war of words over dropping Nehru’s name from NMML

Mallikarjun Kharge led the Congress charge, saying such actions cannot reduce the huge contribution of ‘Hind ke Jawahar’.

Congress on Friday sparred with the ruling BJP over dropping Jawaharlal Nehru’s name from the prestigious Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), calling it “pettiness and vengeance” while the saffron party claimed it showed its rival’s inability to accept leaders beyond “one dynasty”.

Party president Mallikarjun Kharge led the Congress charge, saying such actions cannot reduce the contributions of ‘Hind ke Jawahar’ (jewel of India) while his BJP counterpart JP Nadda countered it claiming that the Congress’ “only contribution is to erase the legacies of all previous Prime Ministers to ensure that only the legacy of one family survives”.

In a tweet soon after the government announced the move to rename NMML as Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library, Kharge said those who do not have any history are now trying to erase the history of others and “the ill-fated attempt to change the name of the NMML cannot belittle the personality of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India and fearless guardian of democracy”.

He said it only showed the small-minded and dictatorial attitude of the BJP-RSS. “The backward thinking of the Modi government cannot reduce the huge contribution of 'Jawahar of Hind' (jewel of India) towards India,” he said.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “Pettiness and vengeance, thy name is Modi. For over 59 years, NMML has been a global intellectual land and treasure house of books and archives. It will henceforth be called the Prime Ministers Museum and Society.”

“What won't Mr Modi do to distort, disparage and destroy the name and legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state. A small, small man overburdened by his insecurities is the self-styled Vishwaguru,” he said.

In a retort to Kharge, Nadda said, "Cassic example of political indigestion – the inability to accept a simple fact that there are leaders beyond one dynasty who have served and built our nation". He said the PM museum is an effort beyond politics and Congress lacks the vision to realise this.

“In PM Sangrahalaya, every PM has got respect. Section relating to Pandit Nehru hasn’t been altered. On the contrary, its prestige has been enhanced. For a party which ruled India for over 50 years, their pettiness is really tragic. It’s also the reason people are rejecting them,” he said.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said Congress leaders are levelling allegations even though they have not yet visited the museum to see how contributions and achievements of Nehru and those of his successors have been showcased in a much better way with use of technology.

“In their opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they do not hesitate to even insult their own leaders. They are not able to differentiate between their own leaders and others due to 'Modiabind' of Modi's opposition in their eyes,” he alleged.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal said the Teen Murti Bhavan, which houses the NMML, is a historic monument where India's destiny was crafted and the architect of India's post-independence glory was first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

“Erasing his legacy by changing the name of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library is a petty act, which only further diminishes the stature of the current regime. India's every success is achieved on the foundation of Nehru’s vision. India knows that, and removing his name from a museum will not change the revered stature that Nehru ji enjoys in every Indian's heart,” he tweeted.

Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said that the Modi government can remove Nehru's name from the boards but they can't remove the respect which people of this country have for him.