Telangana Minister Konda Surekha clarifies over remarks linking Samantha-Naga’s divorce to KTR: ‘If you are offended…’

Telangana Minister Konda Surekha issued a clarification Thursday after her comments over actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce sparked controversy. She had linked their divorce to Bharat Rashtra Samiti's (BRS) working President KT Rama Rao.

In a post on X on Thursday, Konda Surekha said that her remarks were to question KT Rama Rao for “belittling women” and not to hurt Samantha Prabhu's sentiments. She added that she would “unconditionally” retract her comments if she or her fans were offended by them.

“My comments are meant to question a leader's belittling of women and not to hurt your [Samantha Prabhu] sentiments. The way you have grown up with self-power is not only an admiration for me but also an ideal...If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments. Don't think otherwise,” Surekha said.

What did Konda Surekha say?

According to news agency ANI, Konda Surekha alleged that KT Rama Rao used to tap the phones of the actresses and blackmail them.

Surekha was quoted as saying, “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 said.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu reacted to the Telangana Minister's remark and said her divorce was a “personal matter.”

Taking to the social media platform Instagram, Samantha issued a statement Wednesday evening in which she clarified that her divorce was by “mutual consent and amicable.” Samantha said there was no political conspiracy involved. She requested people to stop speculating about her divorce.

Nagarjuna Akkineni also condemned Surekha's remarks, saying that she should not use the lives of movie stars to criticise her opponents, and urged her to respect the privacy of others.

Meanwhile, BRS working president K T Rama Rao sent Konda Surekha a defamation notice over her controversial remarks.

In the legal notice, KTR stated that Surekha made comments to “tarnish” his image and demanded an immediate withdrawal of her statements.

(With inputs from ANI)