On the occasion of Republic Day (26 January), members of a Hindu group stormed into Jinnah Tower in India’s Andhra Pradesh state to unfurl the country's national flag. However, they were detained by the local police.

Jinnah Tower, a popular landmark honouring Pakistan's founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah, located in Guntur, a city in India's Andhra Pradesh state was painted in the three colours of the Indian flag on Tuesday.

In addition, plans are afoot to hoist the Indian national flag near it on Thursday. The decision was taken by local officials days after some members of Hindu Yuva Vahini, a Hindu group, tried to unfurl the national flag -- the tricolour -- on the tower on 26 January (Indian Republic Day).

Talking to media on Tuesday, Mohammed Musthafa Shaik, a lawmaker from the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in Guntur East area, said that at the behest of various groups it was decided to decorate the tower with the tricolour and to construct a pole to hoist the national flag near it.

"Necessary arrangements will be made to hoist the national flag at Jinnah Tower on Thursday," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Shaik visited Guntur Municipal Corporation Mayor Kavati Manohar to inspect the security arrangements.

In December last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state had demanded that the name of Jinnah Tower be changed.

The tower is revered as a symbol of harmony and peace by locals. It was built between 1942 and 1945 and consists of six pillars with a dome-shaped structure atop. The venue is also referred to as the Jinnah Centre.