Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao has sent a defamation notice to Telangana minister Konda Surekha over her controversial remarks, linking him behind the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
In the legal notice, KTR stated that Surekha made the comments to "tarnish" his image, and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the statements made.
BRS also condemened the remarks in a post on X, and also refuted the allegations of phone tapping made by Surekha.
"In the legal notice, KTR stated that Konda Surekha Addagolu made the comments by taking the names of Samantha-Nagachaitanya only with the aim of tarnishing his image. Surekha is using her name for political purposes only with a political party. Konda Surekha, as a minister, is misused her position," the post read.
Read: https://twitter.com/BRSparty/status/1841510470303506685?
This comes after Congress leader Konda Surekha sparked major controversy by linking actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce to BRS Chief KT Rama Rao. She also alleged that KTR used to tap the phones of the actresses and blackmail them.
"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," Surekha told reporters on Wednesday.
This created a major controversy, drawing criticism from BRS and actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nagarjuna Akkineni.
Samantha herself reacted to the remarks and said that her divorce was a "personal matter."
Taking to her Instagram story, she clarified that her divorce was "mutual consent and amicable" and there was no political conspiracy involved. Samantha also requested people to stop speculating about her divorce.
"To be a woman, to come out and work, to survive in a glamorous industry where women are more often than not treated as props, to fall in love & to fall out of love, to still stand up and fight... It takes a lot of courage and strength," the statement read.
Earlier, superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni 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.
"I strongly condemn the comments of the Minister, Konda Surekha. Don't use the lives of movie stars who stay away from politics to criticize 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," Nagarjuna said in a post on X.
Nagarjuna's son, Naga Chaitanya, was previously married to actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. They announced their separation on social media in a joint statement in October 2021.
They urged fans and media for privacy and support during these difficult times. Samantha and Chaitanya maintained that they will always 'hold a special bond' between them.
—ANI