Vijayawada, February 02, 2022: The Jinnah Tower in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur was painted in tricolour by a YSR Congress MLA on Tuesday, ANI reported. The tower has been surrounded with controversy for some time now, with the Bharatiya Janata Party demanding its name be changed.
The development comes after three people claiming to be from the Hindu Vahini organisation were detained on January 26 for trying to hoist the national flag at the tower, despite prohibitory orders.
On Tuesday, Guntur East MLA Mohammed Musthafa said, “On the request of various groups, it was decided to decorate the tower with the tricolour and to construct a pole to hoist the national flag near the tower.” He added, “Necessary arrangements will be made to hoist the National flag at Jinnah Tower on Thursday.”
According to a PTI report, in December last year, the state unit of the BJP had demanded that the tower’s name be changed to honour former President Abdul Kalam. They threatened to destroy the monument if the YSRC government doesn’t heed their demands according to the reports published in indianexpress.com.
Musthafa, however, slammed the BJP member for raising the issue. “BJP leaders should participate in helping needy people amid Covid-19 pandemic, instead of provoking communal clashes,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
Following the Republic Day incident, police had cordoned off the area to prevent any untoward incident that may flare up communal tensions. Musthafa along with GMC Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu had visited the monument on Tuesday to check security arrangements.
