Remove Sania Mirza as Telangana brand ambassador: BJP MLA

Hyderabad, Feb 18 (IANS) Controversial BJP legislator Raja Singh on Monday called for removing Indian tennis star Sania Mirza as the brand ambassador of Telangana, calling her "Pakistan's daughter-in-law".

The Telangana Assembly member said Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao must immediately remove Mirza as the brand ambassador in the wake of the February 14 terror attack in Pulwama that claimed the lives of 49 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers.

"We don't need a Pakistani bahu as brand ambassador of Telangana," said Raja Singh, who represents Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad.

He feels that removing Sania Mirza, the wife of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, as brand ambassador will send a strong message to Pakistan over its involvement in terror activities.

Raja Singh said when the Central government was taking a series of tough measures against Pakistan, the state government should also take the step to convey strong sentiments of the Indian citizens to Pakistan.

The BJP leader suggested that the state government could appoint any other player as its brand ambassador.

"We have cricketer V.V.S. Laxman and badminton stars Saina Nehwal or P.V. Sindhu, who are also from Telangana and who have brought many laurels to the state and to the country," he added.

Telangana had named Sania Mirza as the state's brand ambassador in July 2014. Then BJP leader in Telangana Assembly K. Laxman had termed Mirza as "non-local" and "Pakistan's daughter-in-law" questioning her credentials to represent the state.

Reacting to Laxman's comment, the tennis ace had said that though married to a Pakistani, she would remain an Indian until the end.

Married to Shoaib Malik in 2010, Sania Mirza gave birth to a baby boy in 2018.