Why should Sania be face of Telangana? She is daughter-in-law of Pakistan: BJP leader

Read: Tennis star Sania Mirza appointed brand ambassador of Telangana

According to him, Sania had insulted India by refusing to carry the Indian flag during the Olympic event and moreover, she was born in Maharashtra, not Telangana.

“If 1956 is the criteria for deciding the nativity of Telangana, where was Sania born and when did she come to Hyderabad? And whom she married (Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik) should also be a criterion for selecting her,” Mr Laxman said and added that there was no rationale behind selecting a “daughter-in-law of Pakistan” to be the brand ambassador of Telangana.

Reacting to BJP’s criticism against appointing Sania Mirza as the Telangana brand ambassador, senior Congress MP Renuka Chowdary, said, “It is cynical. BJP’s criticism of Sania Mirza, who is a sportswoman, only shows their petty, its narrow and communal mindedness; she is a pretty girl and I hope she will do her job correctly and bring laurels to Telangana as its brand ambassador. It has became a habit of the BJP to look at everything through coloured glasses forgetting that sports do not have a colour or religion.”

Mr Laxman added, “It is all done with an eye on the upcoming GHMC polls to gain support of the Muslims. Even the CM’s daughter Kavitha has said in Parliament that both Telangana and Kashmir were not part of India before 1947. Similarly, the CM ordered Nawab Ali Jung’s birthday to be celebrated as Telangana En-gineers’ Day; he also succumbed to the Majlis party’s lobbying and included Charminar in the official logo of Telangana government.

“KCR is also promising to bring 12 per cent reservations for Muslims which is against the Constitution. If this is not appeasement of Muslims what else is?” Mr Laxman asked.

TDP secretary Aravind Kumar Gowd, said, “It is a known fact that KCR of late has started appeasing Muslims keeping the GHMC elections in mind, he has been doing it with a specific agenda of gaining control over GHMC.”