Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shared stage in Kolkata on Sunday for the celebration of the Indian Museum’s bicentenary.
Singh, while stressing on the importance of museums, said that museums are institution of learning and knowledge and they have undergone transformation all over the world. He further said, “Museums in the 19th century were seen as collections – great storehouses of objects, artefacts and pieces of art… In the late 17th century, the word museum simply meant a building used for storing and exhibiting objects illustrative of antiquities, natural history, art and the like.”
Singh, who was invited as the chief guest of the occasion, was accompanied by Union Minister Kapil Sibal, Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch, West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan and Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Three days back, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had called for a change in Delhi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, Singh arrived in the state capital on Saturday and was received by the Governor and state Co-operation Minister Rachpal Singh at the airport.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) leader Manas Bhuniya said that a party delegation is likely to meet the Prime Minister on Sunday morning.
Moreover, during his visit to the state, Singh Singh has requested Union Minister Deepa Dasmunsi to end her fast which the latter began on Friday for setting up an AIIMS-like institute in her constituency Raiganj.
