Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said every Prime Minister had contributed towards achieving the goals of a constitutional democracy and that remembering them was to know the journey of Independent India, while speaking at the inauguration of the Museum on Prime Ministers in New Delhi.
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On the birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, Mr. Modi inaugurated the museum dedicated to former Prime Ministers built at Teen Murti Estate, the residence of Jawaharlal Nehru that was converted into the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) after his death. Mr. Modi said the museum would serve as an inspiration at a time the country was celebrating 75 years of Independence.
“Every government formed in Independent India has contributed in taking the country to the heights it is at today,” he said, adding that visitors to the museum would learn about the contributions of the former Prime Ministers, their backgrounds and struggles.
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Mr. Modi said it was a matter of pride that many of the Prime Ministers had come from “ordinary families”. “It also gives confidence to the youth of the country that even a person born in an ordinary family can reach the highest positions in the democratic system of India,” he said.
Mr. Modi said “barring a couple of exceptions”, India had a proud tradition of strengthening democracy.
The museum, built on the Teen Murti Estate that was Nehru’s home for 16 years, is spread over 10,491 square metres and cost ₹306 crore, according to a statement. Work on the museum started in October 2018 and no trees were felled or transplanted from the site, according to a government statement. The museum includes 43 galleries on the lives and tenures of former Prime Ministers, as well as a sound and light show.
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Earlier in the event, Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy said the museum was a living example of Indian democracy and that a person from a poor family could also become the Prime Minister of the country.
Nripendra Misra, the chairman of the NMML executive council, said the museum was a "work in progress". He said families of former Prime Ministers had donated the leaders' objects like Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharat Ratna medal.
While families of all former Prime Ministers were invited, among those who attended the inaugural ceremony were family members of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chandra Shekhar and Morarji Desai. Among those who did not attend were Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had expressed concern about the changes at NMML when the PMs’ museum project was started in 2018.
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Adarsh Shastri, a spokesperson for Delhi Congress and the grandson of Lal Bahadur Shastri, said the museum was over-due. “Every Prime Minister’s contribution is visible. It is unfortunate if it becomes politicised,” he said. Mr. Shastri added that his family had donated the charkha given to Lal Bahadur Shastri in dowry, his badminton racket and a passbook of his bank account in Punjab National Bank. These items, however, had not been displayed yet.
Significantly, when asked to comment about the museum for former Prime Ministers, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said while the previous governments wanted to write history by working to address basic issues like education, health and social justice, the Narendra Modi government wanted to create history by constructing buildings and undertaking beautification projects.
Ms. Shrinate also alleged that the starting point of history for the Modi government was only from May 14, 2014, when he took oath as Prime Minister.
(With inputs from Sandeep Phukan)