HYDERABAD: Telangana minister Konda Surekha sparked a controversy on Wednesday, after she blamed BRS working president KT Rama Rao for the divorce of Tollywood actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Prabhu. Her comments drew sharp reactions from the film industry and turned into a full-blown political row within hours.
KTR sent the Telangana environment minister a legal notice, demanding an unconditional and open apology and warned her of legal consequences, including criminal cases, if she failed to retract her comments within 24 hours.
“Just for political mileage, you used my name and allegations. You are even resorting to character assassination of women film actors. Being a minister, you abused your position,” KTR said in his legal notice, while also alleging that the minister’s comments were part of a calculated plan to defame him. Veteran Tollywood actor and Chaitanya’s father, Akkineni Nagarjuna, too condemned the minister’s comments which he said were all false.
“As a woman in a responsible position, your comments and accusations against our family are completely irrelevant and false,” Nagarjuna wrote on his official ‘X’ handle, urging the minister to withdraw her comments immediately.
“I strongly condemn the comments of the minister…Don’t use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticise your opponents. Please respect other people’s privacy…I am condemning the statement in the strongest possible terms,” Nagarjuna wrote. His wife, Amala Akkineni, also lashed out at Konda Surekha for “conjuring evil fiction allegations, preying on decent citizens as fuel for a political war”.
“This is really shameful. If leaders lower themselves into the gutter and behave like criminals, what will happen to our country?” she added.