Three members of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library society (NMML), who were critical of its decision to set up a museum for all prime ministers in the Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhi, have been replaced by the central government.
The three members - economist Nitin Desai, professor Udayan Mishra and former bureaucrat BP Singh - have been replaced by journalist Arnab Goswami, former Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Bharatiya Janata Party MP and president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and chairman of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Ram Bahadur Rai.
BP Singh, a former bureaucrat who was replaced as the member of NMML, had questioned the need for a museum and raised the complaint that states will now want similar museums to honour CMs.
The newly appointed members will now oversee decisions concerned with the memorial. The foundation stone for the memorial was laid only a few days ago in New Delhi. The newly appointed members will serve till April 26, 2020, as per a notification issued by the Ministry of Culture. In a notification issued last week, the Ministry confirmed that it had accepted the resignation of academic Pratap Bhanu Mehta. Journalist Arnab Goswami will be replacing him.
Reacting to the changes, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who is also a member of the society nominated by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund said, “The people who have been replaced were men of integrity and scholarship,” speaking to Economic Times.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for the Teen Murti Bhavan to be left 'undisturbed'.
In September, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund was asked to vacate the Teen Murti Bhavan by the Directorate of Estates of the Union Ministry of Urban Development. The Fund, established in 1964 has been located at the place that was once the residence of Nehru. The Delhi High Court, however, stayed the eviction notice on November 1.