Nehru Memorial Fund gets eviction notice, refutes 'unauthorised occupation' charge
New Delhi, Sep 24 : Amidst the raging controversy surrounding the Nehru Memorial Museum Library (NMML), the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, chaired by Sonia Gandhi and housed in the Teen Murti Estate here, has been asked by Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to vacate the premises on grounds of "unauthorised occupation", which the Fund has refuted in "unequivocal terms".
In a letter dated September 11 from the Directorate of Estates under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, a copy of which is with IANS, the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund had been asked to vacate the Teen Murti Bhavan by September 24.
The letter said that NMML is in "dire need of space" and alleged that the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund is occupying the premises "without any authority of law".
"Having coming to know about your unauthorised occupation of the building in pursuance of the communications received from NMML and having realised that you are in unauthorised occupation of the demised premises which is badly required for the objects of NMML, you are directed to vacate the premises… not later than 24.09.2018… failing which further action will be taken under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised occupants) Act 1971," the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs warned in its letter.
The letter signed by G.P. Sarkar (Deputy Director, Estates) further said that Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund is "liable to pay damage charges for illegal occupation of the premises w.e.f. 28.08.1967".
Responding to the notice, N. Balakrishnan, Administrative Secretary of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, refuted its premise and asked that it be withdrawn.
"I hereby refute in unequivocal terms your charge of unauthorised use or unauthorised occupation of the present office premises by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund in the Teen Murti Estate," Balakrishnan said in his response in a letter (that IANS has has access to) on September 20.
The five-page letter elaborated at length that the premises has been in its occupation since 1967, and has "remained unchallenged and never questioned and has been cemented".
Notably, it was NMML that had requested the Central government (vide letter dated June 14, 2018) "that a portion of Teen Murti Estate" occupied by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund "be vacated".
"The NMML is in need of space. People want to watch micro films, the library is always crowded… I want to shift all non-academic departments out of the library but there is no space. The part of the premises occupied by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund is the only possible and viable space in the Teen Murti Complex," NMML Director, Shakti Sinha told IANS at his office.
He further alleged that there is "no organic relationship" between NMML and the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.
"I do not know what is their management structure and how they function. A lot of money has been passed on by the government to the Fund in the past. In the two years that I have been here, they have had no interaction with me. I wish them best but I also need more space for the library," Sinha stressed.
His charges were, however, refuted by the Fund's Secretary, Suman Dubey, who said that the fund was set up two years before the NMML and pointed out its contributions to the NMML.
"The fund and library have had a close relationship for the past 50 years. The fund established the Nehru Planetarium, the first and the only one in the Capital city in 1984, spending more than two crores and gifted it to the NMML," Dubey, a close confidante of the Nehru-Gandhi family, told IANS, pointing out other similar contributions of the fund towards NMML.
"We are certainly not unauthorised occupants. We have sent our response asking the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to withdraw its letter," he said.
The fund was established in 1964 and is located in the premises of the Teen Murti complex since 1967.
It maintains that it is "fully entitled to using this property", as it has "functioned in the public interest over the past half century".
The development comes against the backdrop of intense criticism from Congress leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, that the government was seeking to "dilute" Jawaharlal Nehru's legacy by changing the character of the Nehru Memorial Museum Library.
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Tension grips Bangladesh after unrest over uprising leader’s death; vandalism at several places
Dhaka (PTI): Bangladesh interim government on Friday urged citizens to resist violence by “a few fringe elements” as the body of a prominent July Uprising leader, who died in Singapore six days after he was shot, reached the capital.
Various parts of the country were rocked Thursday night by attacks and vandalism, including stone-hurling at the Assistant Indian High Commissioner's residence in Chattogram, after Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus confirmed Sharif Osman Hadi's death in a televised address to the nation.
There were, however, no reports of fresh violence since Friday morning.
Hadi, one of the leaders who had taken part in the student-led protests last year – termed as July Uprising - and a candidate for the scheduled February 12 general elections, died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital six days after he was shot by unidentified men.
Body of Hadi, who was the spokesperson of the Inqilab Mancha, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) at around 6 pm on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight, amid tight security and widespread public mourning, state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) said quoting Biman General Manager (Public Relations) Boshra Islam.
Members of the Bangladesh Army, Armed Forces Battalion (AFB) and police were deployed in large numbers to maintain security when Hadi's body was taken out of the airport, it added.
Hadi's passing away at the Singapore General Hospital triggered widespread mourning across political circles, activists of Inqilab Mancha and the general public, BSS said.
Yunus has declared a one-day state mourning on Saturday following Hadi's death.
Earlier on Thursday, soon after Yunus' announcement, protesters took to the streets and attacked offices of leading newspapers, vandalised 32 Dhanmandi with hammers, and also demolished an office of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's disbanded Awami League party in Rajshahi city.
Regarded as the centre point of Bangladesh’s pre-independence struggle for autonomy for decades, 32 Dhanmandi was largely demolished with excavators on February 5 this year. It was also set on fire soon after the August 5, 2024 fall of the then Awami League government and Hasina fleeing to India.
Protesters also hurled bricks and stones at the residence of the Assistant Indian High Commissioner in Chattogram at 1:30 am, but failed to cause any damage.
Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, dispersing the crowd and detaining 12 protesters. A few injuries were also reported.
Senior officials assured the assistant high commissioner of enhanced security.
In Dhaka, protesters attacked the office of a leading cultural group, Chhayanaut, and brought out the furniture, setting it on fire.
Sporadic violence was also reported from other parts of the country overnight.
Meanwhile, after the flight from Singapore landed in Dhaka, local media reports and videos shared on social media showed Hadi's followers lining up on both sides of the road from the airport to Shahbagh to receive him before his coffin was brought to the Dhaka University Central Mosque for a public meeting.
In a Facebook post, Inqilab Mancha announced that a janaza will be held in Bangladesh on Saturday after Zuhr prayers (afternoon) at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital.
Hadi was shot in the head last week by masked gunmen as he initiated his election campaign at central Dhaka’s Bijoynagar area. He died while undergoing treatment at a Singapore hospital after fighting for his life for six days.
On Thursday night, the National Citizen Party (NCP), a large offshoot of Students Against Discrimination (SAD) that led the July Uprising, which ousted the Hasina-led government, joined a mourning procession on the Dhaka University campus.
Supporters of the group chanted anti-India slogans alleging that Hadi’s assailants fled to India after committing the murder. They called upon the interim government to close the Indian high commission until they were returned.
“The interim government, until India returns assassins of Hadi Bhai, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh will remain closed. Now or Never. We are in a war!” said Sarjis Alm, a key leader of NCP.
Starting Thursday through night, a group of people, believed to be part of the protesters, also attacked the offices of Bangla newspaper Prothom Alo’s office and the nearby Daily Star at the capital's Karwan Bazar, near the Shahbagh intersection.
Reports said they vandalised several floors while journalists and staff of the newspaper were trapped inside, and the mob ignited a fire in front of the building.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) strongly condemned the vandalism and said that the Yunus-led interim government will have to shoulder its responsibility.
In his address on Thursday, Yunus vowed to bring those involved in Hadi's brutal murder to justice quickly, saying, “No leniency will be shown” to the killers.
“I sincerely call upon all citizens – keep your patience and restraint,” he said.
“No one can stop the democratic progress of this country through threat, terrorist activities or bloodshed,” he said, adding that the responsibility of realising Hadi's dream lies on the shoulders of the entire.
