Guntur Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu on Thursday said that there is nothing wrong with the name of Jinnah Tower in Andhra Pradesh, and alleged that the BJP is criticising it for political gain.
Speaking with ANI, Naidu said, "There is nothing wrong with the name of Jinnah Tower. BJP is only making criticism to gain political mileage."
Following a controversy over the name of Jinnah Tower, it was recently painted in tricolour and arrangements to hoist the national flag were made. Reacting to it, Guntur East MLA Mohammed Musthafa had said that Muslim 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 added.
Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party which raised the issue of Jinnah tower earlier last month, Musthafa said, "BJP leaders should participate in helping needy people amid COVID-19 pandemic, instead of provoking communal clashes."
The Andhra Pradesh unit of BJP submitted a memorandum in December last year to the Guntur Municipal Corporation Commissioner Challa Anuradha requesting to rename Jinnah Tower after the name of former president Abdul Kalam.
( With inputs from ANI )
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