Museum for prime ministers to be opened on April 14

The Museum of Prime Ministers at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) is set to be inaugurated on April 14.

Speaking to the party’s MPs at an interaction on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the museum will honour all the previous PMs and their contributions.

Modi told that every prime minister had his contribution and it will not be forgotten, said a BJP MP who was part of the meeting.

The 10,975-square-foot museum, spread over three floors, was to be first completed by March 2020. But the project saw several delays — the government first decided to recall bids after they did not like the design proposals in 2019, there was Covid in 2020, and in 2021 the project faced a torrential spate of rain.

Sikka Associates is building the museum, and Gurgaon-based design firm Tagbin is designing it. The project costs Rs 271 crore.

DH had earlier reported that among the highlights were a kinetic roof of lights at the entrance, which forms a pattern of a waving Tricolour, and multiple interactive digital installations which will showcase the history of the 15 prime ministers of India.

Sources said technology from around the globe was part of the tech-backed design, and a team headed by IIT Bombay helmed the project. The National Institute of Design, too, helped with the design.

However, the PM’s museum has been heavily criticised by the Opposition after the Modi government announced it and said that all but Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, would be part of the museum.

The NMML is housed at the Teen Murti Bhavan, which was the official residence of Nehru during his tenure as PM. Sources said as part of the design brief, all those involved were directed to ensure that the new building was not bigger than the Teen Murti Bhawan, to avoid controversy.

The Opposition had protested the move and several prominent members of the NMML Society, including Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge and Karan Singh, historian Nayanjot Lahiri, and economist Nitin Desai had protested. Eventually, some of these members were dropped when the NMML Society was reconstituted.

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