Owaisi said the Bharat Ratna was not "willingly" given to Ambedkar.

The row over Bharat Ratna continued as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday questioned the Central government over the choice of highest civilian award.

Owaisi asked how many "dalits, adivasi, muslims, poor, upper caste or Brahmin have received Bharat Ratna till now", as reported by news agency ANI.

He added the Bharat Ratna was not "willingly" given to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar but it was given out of necessity.

Asaduddin Owaisi at an event in Maharashtra y'day: Mujhe yeh batao ki jitne Bharat Ratna ke award diye gaye usmein se kitne dalit, adivasi, musalmanon, garibon, upper caste aur Brahminon ko diye gaye? Babasaheb ko Bharat Ratna diya par dil se nahi diya majboori ki halat mein diya pic.twitter.com/8P0V0Ncr3H ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2019

Meanwhile, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) backed Owaisi's comments and said the AIMIM chief has raised a "pertinent question regarding discrimination against underprivileged communities".

The party said Owaisi's statement should "not be taken as a communal one" but rather looked at it carefully.

"Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. It is above the divides of caste and religion. It should be conferred to people based on their service to the nation. Mr owaisi has raised a pertinent question regarding discrimination against the underprivileged communities. The authorities should look into. Determine whether anybody deserving from these communities was kept aside," TRS spokesperson Abid Rasool Khan said.

"His statement should not be taken as a communal one. Should rather be looked at and if nobody ever lost out on a Bharat Ratna due to their caste or religion, the authorities should make the statistics public to clear out doubts."

On Sunday, Yog Guru Ramdev also questioned the government for conferring the Bharat Ratna to actors and politicians and not the seers of the Hindu religion. Ramdev alleged that Mother Teresa was conferred the Bharat Ratna as she was a Christian.

Owaisi's remark comes days after senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the Centre for not conferring Bharat Ratna on spiritual leader Shivakumara Swami, the Lingayat seer who died recently, and instead choosing "a singer" (Bhupen Hazarika) and a "man who propagated their RSS ideology" (Nanaji Deshmukh).

The Karnataka Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) had earlier expressed disappointment over the Central government's decision to not name Shivakumara Swami as a recipient of the Bharat Ratna award.

"It is really unfortunate that Dr Shri Shivakumara Swamiji was not honoured with Bharat Ratna in spite of repeated recommendations by Shri @siddaramaiah during his tenure and now by the coalition government in Karnataka," the Karnataka Congress tweeted.

On Friday, JD(S) leader Danish Ali protested the award being conferred on former president Pranab Mukherjee and not on seer Shivakumara Swami of the Siddaganga mutt, who died on Monday (January 21) at the age of 111.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy also regretted that the Central government did not confer Bharat Ratna on Shivakumara Swami.

"It is disappointing that Bharat Ratna was not awarded to late Siddaganga seer from Tumakuru posthumously," a statement from the Chief Minister's Office said.

On Friday, the Centre named former President Pranab Mukherjee for Bharat Ratna along with Bhupen Hazarika and Nanaji Deshmukh.

Pranab Mukherjee, 83, served as the President of India since 2012 to 2017.

Bhupen Hazarika, one of the most popular regional singers and someone who is synonymous with the Assamese identity, had earlier been awarded with Padmashri, Padmabhushan, Dada Saheb Phalke Award among others things.

Meanwhile, social activist Nanaji Deshmukh was conferred with the award for his contribution to the nation.

He played an important role in the JP movement of the 1970s and was a long-time member of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). He was the driving force behind social activist Jayaprakash Narayan's agitation for total revolution.