Amid the controversy over the Jinnah Tower in Guntur, the Andhra Pradesh government unfurled the national flag on the heritage structure on Thursday.
The flag hoisting ceremony was organised by Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC). Andhra Pradesh Mekathoti Sucharitha hoised the national flag at the Jinnah Tower. Several YSRCP MLAs, Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu and others participated in the event.
Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been demanding the YSRCP-led state government to change the name of Jinnah Tower.
Earlier on Republic Day, a group of people had tried to hoist the national flag at Jinnah Tower centre but the police detained them and prevented them from doing that.
Later, amid the political pressure by BJP and others, the State government and the GMC authorities painted the tower with tricolour.
After hoisting the National Flag at the Jinnah Tower, Home Minister Sucharitha alleged that the BJP was trying to disturb the religious and communal harmony in the State and hence brought this into the news.
She opined that there was nothing wrong with having this iconic structure, which was built before independence as a symbol of the freedom struggle. She said that the people who were making comments on the Jinnah Tower must go through the history of it. She hoped that, with this initiative of hoisting the national flag and painting the tower with tricolour, the issue would end here.
Meanwhile, former YSRCP MLA Modugula Venugopal Reddy surprisingly raised slogans hailing Pakistan's founding father Md Ali Jinnah. Venugopal Reddy raised a slogan, "Johar Jinnah".
Addressing the gathering, he said, "Jinnah Tower will be there in Guntur as long as Chilli will be there in Chilli Bajji (a traditional local snack). There is a Burj Khalifa in Dubai. There is Jinnah Tower in Guntur."
He said that the BJP has to withdraw their demand if they have respect towards Ambedkar and the Constitution of India. He said that the Constitution says India is a secular country.
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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