In response to a few protests that rose since tennis star Sania Mirza's announcement of marrying Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, minister for sports and IT of Andhra Pradesh, announced on Thursday that her awards and gifts will not be taken away from her.
He also said that the state government is proud to have a player of international stature from Hyderabad and that it will continue to support her for as long as she plays for the country.
Earlier, on Tuesday, advocate Srinivas Rao had filed a complaint at the Banjara Hills police station, stating that all the gifts conferred on Sania were at the tax payers' expense, and that her marrying Shoaib is base treachery to the nation.
He, therefore, demanded that all awards and gifts Sania recieved be taken back by the government of India. The demand was eventually disregarded by the government.