'No proposal to convert Nehru Museum Memorial as monument for former PMs'

Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel informed the Lok Sabha that the government has approved a proposal to set up a new museum for all the Prime Ministers of India in Teen Murti complex. Patel also said that the museum is likely to be commissioned by October 2020. However, he clarified that there was no proposal to convert the Nehru Museum Memorial and Library as a monument for the PMs.

New Delhi: The government has said there was no proposal to convert Nehru Museum Memorial and Library as a monument for all former Prime Ministers.

"However, the government has approved a proposal to set up a new museum on the Prime Ministers of India in Teen Murti complex," Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

He said the prime objective behind the move was to broaden a better understanding of India's democratic ethos, create curiosity about the office, life and personality of Prime Ministers among the visitors and the public at large.

Patel said the museum is likely to be commissioned by October 2020.

Nehru Museum Memorial and Library in the Teen Murti complex was the official residence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister and it was set up in his memory as an autonomous institution under the Union Culture Ministry.

The Congress had opposed the government's move accusing it to be an attempt to dilute the legacy of Nehru, but the government had denied the charges, saying it was not the case.