Telugu film star Nagarjuna Akkineni has lodged a defamation complaint against Telangana Minister Konda Surekha, accusing her of making “derogatory” and “defamatory” remarks about his son, actor Naga Chaitanya, and his divorce from actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
The complaint was filed after Konda Surekha, a Congress leader, alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao was responsible for the couple’s split. She claimed that KT Rama Rao had lured Samantha into drug addiction and blackmailed her, leading to the divorce. The comments were made during a political rant on Wednesday.
Nagarjuna’s complaint, filed in Hyderabad’s Nampally district, condemned the allegations as baseless and damaging to his family’s personal and professional reputation. He asserted that Surekha made the remarks with malicious intent to gain political mileage and sensationalize the issue.
“The statement was made with the intent to convey falsehoods to the public at large, causing harm to the complainant and his family’s reputation,” the complaint stated, adding that these actions constitute a criminal offense.
Second Legal Notice Against Surekha
This is the second legal action against Konda Surekha related to these remarks. BRS leader KT Rama Rao, often called KTR, also served her with a defamation notice, accusing her of engaging in “nauseating politics” and demanding action from Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi.
Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Respond
Naga Chaitanya responded to the controversy, calling his divorce from Samantha an “unfortunate life decision” that was mutually agreed upon. He criticized the baseless rumors, specifically calling Surekha’s claims “ridiculous” and “unacceptable.”
Samantha Ruth Prabhu, in her response, requested that her name not be used in political battles. “My divorce is a personal matter… I request you refrain from speculating about it,” she said, emphasizing her desire to remain non-political.
Following widespread backlash, Konda Surekha offered an “unconditional” apology to Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Prabhu. However, she refused to retract her comments about KT Rama Rao, demanding that he also issue an apology.
“I spoke about a family, and it was a slip of the tongue,” she said, while maintaining her stance against the BRS leader. She acknowledged Samantha’s self-reliance and retracted her comments if they had offended the actress or her fans.
Telangana Congress leaders, including IT Minister Sridhar Babu, addressed the issue, emphasizing that Konda Surekha’s comments were unacceptable. The Congress state unit chief, Mahesh Kumar Goud, also expressed his disapproval, stating that freedom of speech should not hurt others’ sentiments. Goud condemned the remarks, emphasizing the need to respect women, including those in the film industry.
Nagarjuna’s legal complaint and the subsequent political fallout have drawn widespread attention, underscoring the impact of personal matters being dragged into public political discourse.