Hyderabad:

A Telangana court today told state minister Konda Surekha to take down her social media posts linking BRS working president KT Rama Rao to the divorce of actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya.

A city civil court in Hyderabad was hearing a petition by Mr Rao, who had filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against the minister.

Ms Surekha, who is Telangana’s Minister for Forest and Environment, stoked controversy earlier this month when she alleged that KT Rama Rao, commonly known as KTR, was the reason behind Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s divorce in 2021.

She claimed that KTR, a former minister, tapped the phones of actresses and blackmailed them. In this connection, she said he was behind the divorce of the actors. 

“It is KT Rama Rao because of whom (actress) Samantha’s divorce happened… He was a minister at that time and used to tap the phones of the actresses and then find their weaknesses to blackmail them… He used to make them drug addicts and then do this… Everyone knows this, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, his family — everybody is aware that such a thing happened,” she had said.

Both actors released separate statements, calling the remarks “absolutely ridiculous” and asking the minister to be “responsible and respectful of individuals’ privacy”.

Mr Chaitanya’s father and famous Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna also filed a defamation case against Ms Surekha, alleging that the minister’s remarks damaged his family’s reputation. 

Several cine personalities such as Chiranjeevi, junior NTR, Mahesh Babu, and Vijay Devarakonda also hit out at the Congress leader.

Amid the massive backlash surrounding her remark, Ms Surekha apologised to the actors and their families.

“I spoke about a family. It was an unexpected slip of the tongue on my part. When I saw their tweets, I felt bad. When I realised that, I felt bad that I hurt someone. So I unconditionally withdraw my statement. But in KTR’s case, there is no going back. I demand his apology,” the minister said.

New Delhi:

Actor Ram Charan on Thursday joined several other Telugu stars slamming Telangana Minister Konda Surekha for her remarks linking Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao with the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

Mr Charan, who played one of the lead roles in the Oscar-winning film “RRR”, said the film industry stands together and won’t tolerate such “reckless behaviour” aimed at them.

“The statements made by Konda Surekha garu are irresponsible and baseless. Making vulgar public comments about respected individuals is shocking, especially coming from an elected leader who holds public office. This kind of slander aims to destroy the fundamentals of our society.,” he said in a statement posted on X.

“Our private lives are sacred to us and deserve due respect. We are public figures, we must uplift, not tear one another,” Mr Charan wrote further.

pic.twitter.com/hiTPgCvLOo

— Ram Charan (@AlwaysRamCharan) October 3, 2024

Ms Surekha on Wednesday alleged that KT Rama Rao, commonly known as KTR, was the reason behind Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s divorce in 2021.

Both actors also released separate statements, calling the remarks “absolutely ridiculous” and asking the minister to be “responsible and respectful of individuals’ privacy”.

Mr Chaitanya’s father and famous Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna filed a defamation case against Ms Surekha, alleging that the minister’s remarks damaged his family’s reputation. 

Several cine personalities such as Chiranjeevi, junior NTR, Mahesh Babu, and Vijay Devarakonda also hit out at the minister, who withdrew her remarks on Thursday after a massive uproar.

Speaking to mediapersons, Ms Surekha said she had to take the names of the actors after she became emotional over the comments made by the KTR, the BRS’ working president, about her.

“I had to criticise him (Rama Rao). I do not have any personal animosity towards anyone. Taking the name of a family was inadvertent. I felt really bad after seeing her Samantha’s post,” she said.

Actor Samanta Ruth Prabhu’s response to Konda Surekha over her comments regarding her divorce with Naga Chaitanya, had a strong message for the Telangana minister, advising her to be “responsible and respectful of individuals’ privacy” and leave her “out of political battles”.

The short note tacked to her Instagram hours after the minister’s comment was scathing. It accused the minister of indulging in speculation, misrepresentation of facts and trivialisation of her journey as a woman.  

“My divorce is a personal matter and I request that you refrain from speculating about it… To clarify: my divorce was mutual consent and amicable, with no political conspiracy involved,” the actor wrote.

In a blistering attack on KT Rama Rao, son of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, earlier today, Ms Surekha linked him with the divorce of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and her former husband Naga Chaitanya. 

She had also said he was the reason why many actresses left movies and married early. KT Rama Rao, she claimed, blackmailed film personalities after getting them addicted to drugs.

Naga Chaitanya is yet to respond. His father, Nagarjuna Akkineni, was first off the mark. In a message on X, formerly Twitter, the veteran Telugu actor said minister’s remarks are “completely irrelevant and false” and demanded that she withdraws them.

“I strongly condemn the comments of the Honorable Minister Mrs. Konda Surekha. Don’t use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect other people’s privacy,” read a rough translation of his post. 

“As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your comments immediately,” he added.

Hyderabad:

Telangana’s Forests Minister Konda Surekha has triggered a massive controversy with her allegations against Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader KT Rama Rao – linking him with the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, drugs and blackmail. Her comments have drawn a sharp response from Naga Chaitanya’s father, veteran Telugu actor Nagarjuna Akkineni, who said her remarks are “completely irrelevant and false” and demanded that she withdraws them.

“I strongly condemn the comments of the Honorable Minister Mrs. Konda Surekha. Don’t use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect other people’s privacy,” read a rough translation of his post on X, formerly Twitter. 

“As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your comments immediately,” he added.

Mr Rao has not commented on the matter but his party leader and former minister Harish Rao Thanneeru has demanded an unconditional apology from the Congress leader. 

In a scathing attack on KT Rama Rao, son of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Ms Surekha said he was the reason why many actresses left the film industry and married early. KT Rama Rao, she claimed, blackmailed film personalities after getting them addicted to drugs.

She also said that she suspected that the BRS leader was behind a series of offensive posts against her.

The Congress leader had faced abuse online after a photo showing BJP leader and Medak MP Raghunandan Rao placing a garland around her neck at a programme. She accused BRS leaders of using the incident to demean her using her gender.

Naga Chaitanya, who parted ways with Samantha Ruth Prabhu two years ago, got engaged to actor Sobhita Dhulipala in August.