Amid the huge backlash surrounding her comment on the divorce of movie star couple Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Telangana Minister Konda Surekha apologised to the actors and their households, however didn’t again down from her allegations towards Bharat Rashtra Samithi chief KT Rama Rao. She additionally harassed that Mr Rao, also called KTR, should apologise.
Ms Surekha has alleged that KTR, a former minister, tapped the telephones of actresses and blackmailed them. On this connection, she mentioned he was behind the divorce of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya. “It’s KT Rama Rao due to whom (actress) Samantha’s divorce occurred… He was a minister at the moment and used to faucet the telephones of the actresses after which discover their weaknesses to blackmail them… He used to make them drug addicts after which do that… Everybody is aware of this, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, his household — all people is conscious that such a factor occurred,” she mentioned.
The remarks sparked a large row. Each Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya are high actors. Naga Chaitanya additionally belongs to the Akkineni household, among the many most influential households within the Telugu movie business.
Nagarjuna Akkineni, his father and veteran actor, responded sharply to the minister’s remarks. “I strongly condemn the feedback of the Honorable Minister Mrs. Konda Surekha. Do not use the lives of film stars who steer clear of politics to criticize your opponents. Please respect different folks’s privateness. As a girl in a accountable place, your feedback and accusations towards our household are fully irrelevant and false. I request you to withdraw your feedback instantly,” he mentioned.
Naga Chaitanya and Samanth Ruth Prabhu responded too.
Naga Chaitanya mentioned the choice of a divorce is “one of the painful and unlucky life choices one has to make”. “After a number of thought, a mutual resolution was made by me and my former partner to half methods. It was a choice made in peace, owing to our totally different life targets and within the curiosity of transferring ahead with respect and dignity as two mature adults. Nevertheless, there have been varied baseless and fully ridiculous gossips on the matter to this point. I’ve remained silent all this whereas out of deep respect for my earlier partner in addition to my household,” he mentioned.
“At present, the declare made by Minister Konda surekha garu shouldn’t be solely false, it’s completely ridiculous and unacceptable. Girls need to be supported and revered. Taking benefit and exploiting the non-public life choices of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful,” he added.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu mentioned it takes a number of braveness and energy for a girl to outlive in a glamorous business the place girls are most of the time handled as props. “Konda Surekha Garu, I’m pleased with what this journey turned me into please do not trivialise it. I hope you realise that your phrases carry important weight as a minister. I implore you to be accountable and respectful of people’ privateness. My divorce is a private matter, and I request that you just chorus from speculating about it. Our option to preserve issues personal would not invite misrepresentation,” she mentioned in a social media publish. “To make clear: my divorce was mutual consent and amicable, with no political conspiracy concerned. May you please preserve my title out of political battles? I’ve at all times remained non-political and want to proceed doing so,” she added.
High actors, together with Chiranjeevi, Jr NTR, Allu Arjun and Nani, slammed the minister’s remarks.
Amid the backlash, Ms Surekha earlier responded to Samantha Ruth Prabhu and mentioned she didn’t intend to harm her sentiments.
“My feedback are supposed to query a pacesetter’s belittling of girls and to not harm your (Samantha Prabhu) sentiments. The way in which you could have grown up with self-power shouldn’t be solely an admiration for me but in addition a super…Should you or your followers are offended by my feedback, I unconditionally retract my feedback. Do not suppose in any other case,” she mentioned.
Former minister KTR has, in the meantime, despatched a defamation discover to Ms Surekha. He has accused the ruling Congress of “disgusting and nauseating politics” and requested its chief Rahul Gandhi to ship the minister to a psychological well being specialist.