Rahul Gandhi arrives in Leh for two-day visit

LEH: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday arrived in Leh to begin his two-day visit to the Union Territory. Rahul Gandhi reached Leh airport today and was welcomed by a huge number of Congress supporters.

Rahul Gandhi will meet the leaders of the Congress unit in Leh.

During his Bharat Jodo Yatra, the former Congress president was unable to visit Leh and had said during his speech on the no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha that he would soon visit Leh.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi spoke on the controversy around the renaming of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) in the national capital to the Prime Ministers’ Memorial Museum and Library (PMML) and stated that his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was known more for the work he did in his time and not just for his name.

"Nehru-ji ki pehchaan unke karam hai, unka naam nahi (Nehru-ji is known for his work and not his name)," Rahul Gandhi told ANI.

The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) was officially renamed the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) by the Centre on Monday.

Earlier, a war of words broke out between the BJP and the Opposition parties over the renaming of the Nehru Memorial Museum to the Prime Minister's Museum and Library. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi can never take away the gigantic contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru in the country's freedom struggle.

"From today, an iconic institution gets a new name. The world-renowned Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) becomes PMML—Prime Ministers’ Memorial Museum and Library. Mr Modi possesses a huge bundle of fears, complexes and insecurities, especially when it comes to our first and longest-serving Prime Minister. He has had a single-point agenda of denying, distorting, defaming and destroying Nehru and the Nehruvian legacy," he said.

BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said that for the Congress only Jawaharlal Nehru and his family matters. "There is a basic difference between the thinking of the Congress party and Jairam Ramesh and PM Narendra Modi. They (Congress) think that only Nehru ji and the family matters. Narendra Modi gave a respectful position to all the PMs of the country at the museum," he said.

Meanwhile Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML) Vice Chairman of Executive Council, A Surya Prakash on Wednesday said the new museum showcases the achievements and the contributions of Jawaharlal Nehru to the nation, adding that those doubtful about the same should visit it.