'Would I be troubled if I'd married a person not from Pakistan?' asks Sania Mirza

An emotional Sania Mirza in an interview spoke on BJP leader K Laxman’s statements against her on TimesNOW, saying that she was extremely hurt that she had been asked time and again to prove her ‘Indianness’. [caption id=“attachment_1634901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sania Mirza said she condemned the doubts raised on her nationality. AFP[/caption] “Why do I need to justify my patriotism? The appointment of a brand ambassador has nothing to do with where a person is from”, Sania said in the interview. Sania further added that if her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik was a problem, she did not mind being told that. “But don’t question my nationality,” she said. “Marriage is a personal choice. Would I be questioned the same way if I married a person not from Pakistan?” Sania added. “There are much bigger issues that need to be addressed,” said Sania. She also said that most people in the country had supported her and she was thankful for that. “80 percent of the country’s population has been extremely supportive. I thank the media for their support also,” Sania told Times Now. Sania had also released a statement earlier on this issue. “It hurts me that so much precious time of prominent politicians and the media is being wasted on a petty issue of my being appointed the Brand Ambassador of my State of Telangana,” she had said on the issue. Senior BJP legislator K Laxman had sparked a controversy when he objected to Mirza being appointed Telangana brand ambassador by the TRS government. Laxman’s objection was that she was now a “daughter-in-law of Pakistan because of her marriage to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. Laxman further suggested that the step by the government was taken with an eye on the minority community votes in the upcoming elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.