Twenty years after his demise, PV Narasimha Rao’s legacy finally finds room in Congress HQ
Rao was the prime minister between 1991 and 1996, and also the Congress president between 1992 and 1994.
Twenty years after his death in December 2004, former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao’s legacy has finally found a place in the headquarters of the Indian National Congress.

The party leadership, which had strictly kept Rao’s photographs off limits in the 24, Akbar Road office, has adorned at least three photographs of the former PM, whose tenure ushered in economic liberalisation, in the new office on 9A, Kotla Road, or ‘Indira Bhawan’.
A video of the new office that was shown during the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday also showed the audience the legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Rao and Manmohan Singh — the six prime ministers from the Congress party.
There was a black and white photo where Rao is seen sitting in a bamboo chair and another one where Rao was receiving South Korean President Kim Young Sam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan along with the then President Shankar Dayal Sharma.
Rao also appears in a black and white photo with late PM Rajiv Gandhi when the former was the defence minister. A younger Manmohan Singh can also be seen in the same frame.
The Congress’ willful omission of Rao had often become a bone of contention across political lines. While the party had hailed the PMs of the Nehru-Gandhi family, they prevented Rao’s mortal remains from entering the AICC office at 24, Akbar Road in 2004 and his funeral took place in Hyderabad, not Delhi even as he had died in AIIMS, New Delhi.
Last month, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raked up the issue when the Congress demanded a memorial for Manmohan Singh who died on December 26, 2024. BJP’s Gaurav Bhatia had lashed out at Congress leader Priyanka and asked her to share the address of the ‘Samadhi Sthal’ built by the Congress for Rao, saying that they will go together to pay tribute to him.
“His body was not allowed to enter the Congress headquarters. His family was told not to cremate him in New Delhi but in his native city. Is this respect? I am sure that you and Rahul Gandhi will definitely muster the courage to ask these tough questions to your mother, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. And yes, please share the address of the Samadhi Sthal built by Congress for Narasimha Rao ji, we will go together to pay tribute. Our government has honoured his contribution by awarding him Bharat Ratna posthumously,” Bhatia had said.
To be sure, many Congress leaders, including Manmohan Singh, had publicly hailed Rao’s contribution for ushering in the liberalisation era in Indian economy. Rao was the prime minister between 1991 and 1996, and also the Congress president between 1992 and 1994.
