Guwahati: Following a dispute over the name of Jinnah Tower in Guntur of Andhra Pradesh, it has been painted in tricolour and plans are being made to hang the national flag beside it.
“It was agreed to decorate the tower with tricolour and install a pole to hoist the national flag near the tower at the request of several organisations,” said Guntur East MLA Mohammed Musthafa.
“On Thursday, the necessary arrangements will be made to hoist the National flag at Jinnah Tower,” Musthafa said.
Musthafa and GMC Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu went to the tower to assess the security arrangements on Tuesday.
“Muslim elder leaders fought against the Britishers during the freedom struggle. After achieving independence, some of the Muslims left the country and settled in Pakistan. But we wanted to continue in our country as Indians and we love our motherland,” he said.
“BJP representatives should participate in aiding poor people during the COVID19 pandemic, rather of creating communal confrontations,” Musthafa remarked, criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party for raising the subject of Jinnah tower earlier this month.
Earlier on January 26, a number of people stormed into Jinnah Tower to unfurl the tricolour after which they were detained.
In December of last year, the BJP’s Andhra Pradesh branch sent a petition to Guntur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Challa Anuradha seeking that Jinnah Tower is renamed after former President Abdul Kalam.