JPNN|New Delhi | July 24, 2014 |Amid the controversy over a Telangana BJP leader describing tennis star Sania Mirza as a "non-local" and "daughter-in-law of Pakistan", Union Minister Prakash Javadekar Thursday said the tennis ace was India's pride and the country's brand ambassador."Sania Mirza is a pride of India. Sania Mirza has an international standing on her own... So, we have no objection. I am sure she is pride of India. She is brand ambassador of India," Javadekar, who is Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, told reporters. A controversy has erupted over the Telangana government appointing 27-year-old Sania as the state's brand ambassador with BJP leader K Laxman describing her as "non-local" and "daughter-in-law of Pakistan". "Sania was born in Maharashtra and settled in Hyderabad only later and, hence, is a non-local," Laxman, the leader of the BJP in the state assembly, had said.He also dubbed her as "daughter-in-law of Pakistan", as she is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. Describing Sania as the "daughter of Hyderabad", Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had on Tuesday appointed her as the state's brand ambassador and handed over a cheque of 1 crore. Agency

Share this post