Naga Chaitanya, the Akkineni family, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and the entire Telugu film industry are up in arms against Telangana Congress minister Konda Surekha, who levelled serious allegations against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao aka KTR. In this explainer, we tell you why Konda Surekha is under fire and how she retracted her statements after massive backlash.
On October 2, Telangana Forest and Environment Minister Konda Surekha got embroiled in controversy after her fiery speech alleging BRS leader KTR's involvement in drug-related parties and claiming he was responsible for Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce.
Speaking to the media at an event, she made derogatory statements against KTR, the Akkineni family, and Samantha. She alleged that many female actors in the Telugu film industry cut short their careers because of KTR's involvement.
Calling KTR a drug addict, she said, "He used to host rave parties for film celebrities. Many heroines have married quickly and exited the cinema field because of KTR's impact on their lives."
Not just that, Surekha went a step ahead and alleged that KTR asked for sexual favours from the Akkineni family before demolishing the family-owned N-convention centre. She stated that this controversy led to the divorce of Naga Chaitanya and Samantha.
"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 claimed.
She also said, "The reason for injustice to Samantha is KTR. Two to three heroines have also got married early due to drug cases. Rakul Preet got married and other two to three heroines as well. Why do we have to bear this headache (of the drug cases) and get married soon? With the power they had previously, they tapped phones, made records and threatened them."
The unverified statements by Konda Surekha went viral on social media. Many celebrities and politicians condemned her speech.
Veteran Telugu actor Nagarjuna, in his post in Telugu, condemned Konda Surekha's comments. Calling the accusations false, he asked her to respect people's privacy.
Nagarjuna's X post read, "I strongly condemn the comments of Honourable Minister Mrs Konda Surekha. Don't use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticise your opponents. Please respect other people's privacy. 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."
The Akkineni family consists of Nagarjuna, his wife Amala, and two sons, Akhil and Naga Chaitanya, along with other extended family members.
Amala Akkineni expressed her displeasure and called the woman minister a 'demon'. She mentioned that the minister is 'preying on decent citizens as fuel for a political war'.
She also appealed to Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and members of the Indian National Congress to restrain their ministers from making such "venomous statements." She tagged Priyanka Gandhi in the post and demanded an apology to her family.
Here's her post:
Akhil Akkineni expressed his support for Amala and called Konda Surekha a 'sociopath'.
Here's his post:
Naga Chaitanya in his X post, claimed that it was painful to arrive at the decision to divorce his former partner. He called the claims made by Surekha 'false, ridiculous and unacceptable.'
Here's his post:
Naga Chaitanya got engaged to actor Sobhita Dhulipala in August 2024.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu criticised the minister, urging her to be responsible and respectful of people's privacy. She emphasised that her divorce was a personal matter and asked the minister to keep her out of political battles.
She clarified that her divorce was by mutual consent and involved no political factors.
Samantha and Naga Chaitanya got married in a private ceremony in Goa in October 2017. The couple announced their separation in October 21, days before their fifth wedding anniversary. Eventually, the two got divorced in 2021.
The Telugu film industry called out Konda Surekha for her insensitive comments on the industry and the personal lives of actors. Many pointed out that she was throwing actors under the bus to suit her agenda.
Chiranjeevi, Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Nani, Lakshmi Manchu, actor-politician Khushbu Sundar and several others lashed out at Surekha on their respective social media accounts.
Here are some posts on X:
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao sent a legal notice to Minister Konda Surekha after her scathing remarks against him. He demanded she retract her statements and tender an unconditional apology within 24 hours to avoid a defamation lawsuit and potential criminal proceedings.
In the legal notice, KTR's counsel mentioned that 'as a consequence of a vitriolic campaign, he has been subjected to scandalous attacks with the sole motive of injuring his reputation.'
Here's his post:
On October 3, at around 12.30 am, Konda Surekha retracted her statement made against Samantha. She shared a series of posts apologising to the actor.
Her statement in Telugu is loosely translated as, "My comments are meant to question a leader's belittling of women and not to hurt @Samanthaprabhu2 sentiments. The way you have grown up with self-power is not only an admiration, but also an ideal person."
She continued, "If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments.. Don't think otherwise (Sic)."
Here are her posts in Telugu:
Minister Konda Surekha's derogatory comments stirred up a hornet's nest with massive flak from celebrities and politicians.
