'Nothing wrong with Jinnah Tower's name': YSCRP says BJP trying to gain political mileage
The tower was in the news recently after members of a right-wing outfit were, on January 26, thwarted from hoisting the tricolour at the site.
Andhra Pradesh's ruling YSR Congress Party (YSCRP) on Thursday accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of making fuss over the name of Guntur's Jinnah Tower only for the purpose of political mileage.
There is nothing wrong with the tower's name, said Guntur mayor and YSRCP leader Kavati Manohar Naidu.
“There is nothing wrong with the name of Jinnah Tower. The BJP is only making criticism to gain political mileage,” Naidu said, according to news agency ANI.
“Hindus and Muslims have been living very peacefully here. We are doing it to send a message that we all stand united. The BJP was trying to rake up this issue unnecessarily,” said Guntur East MLA Mohammed Musthafa, who is also from the chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led party.
Built in 1945 and located on Guntur's MG Road, the landmark, as its nomenclature suggests, is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who founded Pakistan in 1947. The BJP has, therefore, frequently pushed the state government to rename the tower, and name it after an Indian personality, such as former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
On January 26, on the occasion of Republic Day, members of a right-wing outfit tried to unfurl the national flag at the site, but were thwarted by the police.
Also Read | Cops thwart right-wing workers’ attempt to unfurl national flag on Jinnah Tower
In the backdrop of this controversy, the city administration painted the Jinnah Tower in the colours of the national flag. The administration will also erect a pole near the monument on which the tricolour will be hoisted.
Though the BJP described this as its win over ‘pseudo-secular and anti-national forces,’ it continues to pressurise the ruling dispensation to remove Jinnah's name from the tower.
