President Murmu unveils Chakravarti Rajagopalachari’s bust at Rashtrapati Bhavan, replaces Lutyens’s

Initiative to spotlight India’s pride

The venture is part of a series of moves being taken in an effort to wash away traces of “colonial mindset”, and “embracing, with pride, the richness of India’s culture, heritage, timeless traditions and honouring those who served Bharat Mata with their extraordinary contributions”, according to the President of India’s post on social media platform, X.

President Droupadi Murmu unveiled bust of Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari Ji, the first and only Indian Governor General of independent India at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The bust of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, situated at the Grand Open Staircase near Ashok Mandap, replaces the bust… pic.twitter.com/xEkZHcwVhA

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) February 23, 2026

Rahstrapati Bhavan’s staircase at Ashok Mandap now features a bust of Rajagopalachari replacing that of Edwin Lutyens, who was the principal architect of a number of buildings in New Delhi.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, and Rajagopalachari’s family were among the dignitaries in attendance.

‘Sad that bust of my great grandfather is removed’

Matt Ridley, or Matthew White Ridley, a British science writer, journalist, and businessman who also happens to be the great grandson of Edwin Lutyens, in an X post stated that it is ‘sad’ to know his great grandfather’s bust being removed from Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. “Sad to read that the bust of Lutyens (my great grandfather) is to be removed from the presidential palace he designed in Delhi. Here I am with it last year. I wondered at the time why his name had been removed from the plinth”, he wrote.

Sad to read that the bust of Lutyens (my great grandfather) is to be removed from the presidential palace he designed in Delhi. Here I am with it last year. I wondered at the time why his name had been removed from the plinth. pic.twitter.com/EITcGKUAMa

— Matt Ridley (@mattwridley) February 23, 2026