'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya' does justice to contribution of all Prime Ministers without discrimination: Former PMO chief Nripendra Misra
Apr 13, 2022
By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi [India], April 13 : As Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream project 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya' is ready to be launched on Thursday, former Principal Secretary to PMO and chairperson of the executive council of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Nripendra Misra said that the project does justice to the contribution of all the Prime Ministers without discrimination.
Speaking to ANI, Misra said, "It has been tried sincerely in the construction of the building that justice should be done with the contribution of every Prime Minister without any discrimination."
Nripendra Misra reveals these facts to ANI a day before the inauguration of 'Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya', a building constructed in the premises of NMML that recognizes the contribution of all Prime Ministers. PM Modi will inaugurate the new building on Thursday.
"After preserving all memories and belongings of India's First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in NMML by adding new things using new technology, Misra said "the new building ('Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya'), begins with the gallery of India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and covers the history of all Prime Ministers. In the end, there is a gallery of Dr Manmohan Singh, who was Prime Minister of India till April 2014," Misra added.
In the construction of 'Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya', the retired 1967-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Misra, said, "It has been tried sincerely that justice should be done with the contribution of every Prime Minister."
"We took care that there should not be any value judgment with any kind of predetermined mind in showcasing the contribution of each Prime Minister. It is kept in mind while construction that the works done by each Prime Minister should be seen in a positive way so that the new generation could know the contribution of these leaders, how they were elected from the democratic system and decorated the country and tried to realize the dream of citizens, and they succeeded in their efforts," said Misra.
Established in a total area of around 10,491 square meters with the logo of the building representing the hands of the people of India holding the wheel, symbolizing nation and democracy; Misra said that 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya', which is near to NMML building, is a 'seamless and integrated arrangement of both the buildings".
"Building number 1 (NMML) and 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya' are united. The first building describes the biography of Nehruji in a detailed manner. Besides, there is a 'Toshakhana', where gifts received by each Prime Minister are preserved, there are some other rooms in NMML, which are kept empty for the purpose to hold conferences and roundtable meetings there in the future," Misra told ANI.
"In this series, we have added India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, and other Prime Ministers. Special galleries are prepared for each Prime Minister and the last gallery is of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. So, we completed a journey from 1947 to April 2014," said Misra.
Explaining the name of "Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya", the NMML Chairman said we did not name it a museum because it reflects a sense of the past.
Despite preserving properties and memories of earlier Prime Ministers, Misra said this Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya will continually add the contribution of future Prime Ministers.
Asked why PM Modi is not given space so far in the 'Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya', Misra said, "We are thinking on it. It is kept in mind to do justice to PM Modi's contribution to the country. In the near future, we will definitely try to form a gallery in the building for the present Prime Minister".
Misra also hinted that PM Modi's gallery will showcase his two terms- first which ended in 2019 and then the second.