BJP demands Guntur's Jinnah Tower be renamed

Guntur, Dec 30:  BJP's Andhra Pradesh chief Somu Veerraju on Thursday demanded a change in the name of Guntur's Jinnah Tower, which is named after Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

He said since Jinnah was the cause of India's division, the state government should change the name of the Tower.

"How can we continue to use the name of a man who was responsible for the country's division for the tower or the area," he asked.

The BJP leader said wherever there are names of anti-nationals, they should be removed.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA in Telangana, Raja Singh also demanded that name of Jinnah Tower should be changed immediately by the Andhra Pradesh government.

"How can you continue to use the name of a man who is responsible for the division of the country and death of many people," he asked.

The MLA, who represents Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad, demanded that the tower be named after freedom fighter Abul Kalam or Gurram Jashua.

Jinnah Tower in Guntur is a key landmark located on Mahatma Gandhi Road, the main artery of the city. Despite wars and conflicts between India and Pakistan, the tower stood as a symbol of peace and harmony.

The tower, built in honour of Jinnah in pre-independence era, is standing tall on six pillars and opens to a dome. This tower is considered the symbol of the Islamic architecture.

According to historians, the tower was built by a local Muslim leader Lal Jan Basha after the visit of Jinnah's representative Judaliyaquat Ali Khan to Guntur.

Heritage activists in the past raised concern over parts of the tower crumbling due to negligence by authorities. They had called for protecting the edifice.