PV Narasimha Rao’s Legacy Celebrated at Congress Headquarters After 20 Years

In December 2004, former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao passed away. Now, two decades later, his legacy is finally being recognized at the Congress party’s new headquarters, located at 9A Kotla Road, known as ‘Indira Bhawan.’ Previously, Rao’s pictures were not allowed in their office at 24 Akbar Road, but now, three photos of him have been displayed proudly.

During the inauguration ceremony, a video showed memories of six prime ministers from the Congress party: Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Rao, and Manmohan Singh. One special photo shows Rao sitting in a bamboo chair, while another shows him welcoming South Korean President Kim Young Sam at Rashtrapati Bhavan with President Shankar Dayal Sharma. There’s also a nostalgic photo of Rao with Rajiv Gandhi when he was the defense minister, featuring a younger Manmohan Singh.

The Congress party had often ignored Rao’s contributions, which led to debates in Indian politics. While they celebrated leaders from the Nehru-Gandhi family, Rao’s remains were not allowed to enter the AICC office after his death, and he was cremated in Hyderabad instead of Delhi, where he had passed away.

Recently, the BJP raised questions about this during discussions about a memorial for Manmohan Singh, who died on December 26, 2024. BJP’s Gaurav Bhatia criticized Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, asking her to reveal where they had built a memorial for Rao. He pointed out that Rao’s death in New Delhi didn’t get the recognition it deserved from the Congress party. Bhatia also mentioned that their government honored Rao by awarding him the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, after his death.