Telangana minister apologises for Samantha-Naga Chaitanya divorce link-up to KTR

Telangana minister Konda Surekha apologised for her remarks on accusing BRS leader KT Rama Rao for being involved in the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Prabhu.

In Short

• Konda Surekha retracts remark on linking KTR with Samantha-Naga divorce
• Says her remark was aimed at KTR, accused him of belitting women
• KTR had sent legal notice to her and demanded her apology

Telangana minister Konda Surekha, who came under fire after alleging Bharat Raksha Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao's involvement in the divorce of actors Samantha Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, has apologised for her remarks. Her apology came after KTR sent a legal notice to her, demanding her to retract her statement or face legal action.

In a series of tweets, Konda Surekha clarified that her comments were meant to question KTR's "belitting of women" and not hurt anyone's sentiments. She said her remarks were not aimed at demeaning Samantha Prabhu's family.

"My comments are meant to question a leader's belittling of women and not to hurt your @Samanthaprabhu2 sentiments. The way you have grown up with self-power is not only an admiration for me, but also an ideal," the minister tweeted.

If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments. Don't think otherwise," she said.

On Tuesday, a viral video of Konda Surekha accusing KTR of meddling in the personal lives of celebrities and being linked to drug-related controversies surfaced on social media. In the video, the minister also brought up the divorce of Samantha Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, accusing KTR of being behind their separation.

"Naga Chaitanya's divorce took place 100 per cent due to KTR. This is because to not demolish N Convention hall, you had to send Samantha to me. Nagarjuna had forced Samantha to go (to KTR) and they said that either you listen to us or give us a divorce. That is the reason why the divorce took place. The whole industry knows about it," she alleged.

"The reason for injustice to Samantha is KTR. Two to three heroines have also got married early due to drugs cases. (Actor) Rakul Preet (Singh) got married and the other two to three heroines as well. Why do we have to bear this headache (of the drugs cases) and get married soon? With the power they had previously, they tapped phones, made records and threatened them," she claimed.

Konda Surekha's remarks sparked a massive uproar in the Telugu film industry, with several actors, including Naga Chaitanya, his father Nagarjuna Akkineni and Samantha Prabhu, lashing out at the minister.

KTR, who sent a legal notice to Konda Surekha, called her remarks "baseless and malicious" and accused her of attempting to tarnish his reputation by making unsubstantiated claims.

KTR lashed out at Rahul Gandhi over the controversy and said he should send Konda Surekha and Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to a "mental health specialist".

"Served legal notices to the minister. Disgusting and nauseating politics by Congress. Request @RahulGandhi to send your minister and chief minister to a mental health specialist or a rehabilitation therapist," KTR said on Tuesday night.

BRS spokesperson Dasoju Sravan demanded the Congress to sack Konda Surekha from her ministerial post. "If Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge ji truly believe in humanity and decency in politics, she must be sacked from her ministerial post in the Telangana government," he said.

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Prabhu announced their separation in 2021. Naga Chaitanya recently got engaged to actor Sobhita Dhulipala in August this year.