Telangana minister apologises for Samantha-Naga Chaitanya divorce link-up to KTR

Telangana minister Konda Surekha, who sparked a row by alleging Bharat Raksha Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao’s involvement in the divorce of actors Samantha Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, has apologised for her remarks. Her apology came after KTR sent a legal notice to her, demanding the minister to retract her statement and apologise else he would take legal action against her.
In a series of tweets, Konda Surekha clarified that her comments were meant to question KTR’s “belitting of women” and not hurt anyone’s sentiments. She said her remarks were not aimed at demeaning Samantha Prabhu’s family and expressed regret if her remarks had hurt her.
“In my political career, I have never mentioned or brought up issues of anyone’s family for political gains. I did not demean your family or Ms @Samanthaprabhu2. I never use the problems someone faces in their personal life as a means to target them, nor did I do it in your case. That’s not my style or intention,” she said.
“I have never crossed the boundaries in my political discourse, nor have I made baseless allegations. If my words have hurt or offended you, I express my regret. I always strive to uphold the dignity of my profession,” she said.
“My comments are meant to question a leader’s belittling of women and not to hurt your @Samanthaprabhu2 sentiments. The way you have grown up with self-power is not only an admiration for me, but also an ideal,” the minister tweeted.
On Tuesday, a viral video of Konda Surekha accusing KTR of meddling in the personal lives of celebrities and being linked to drug-related controversies surfaced on social media. In the video, the minister also brought up the divorce of Samantha Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, accusing KTR of being behind their separation.
“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 alleged.
“The reason for injustice to Samantha is KTR. Two to three heroines have also got married early due to drugs cases. Rakul Preet got married and other two to three heroines has well. Why do we have to bear this headache (of the drugs cases) and get married soon? With the power they had previously, they tapped phones, made records and threatened them,” she claimed.
Konda Surekha’s remarks drew a furore with several celebrities, including Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Prabhu, lashing out at the minister.
KTR, who sent a legal notice to Konda Surekha, called her remarks “baseless and malicious” and accused her of attempting to tarnish his reputation by making unsubstantiated claims.
BRS spokesperson Dasoju Sravan demanded the Congress to sack Konda Surekha from her ministerial post. “If Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge ji truly believe in humanity and decency in politics, she must be sacked from her ministerial post in the Telangana government,” he said.
Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Prabhu announced their separation in 2021. Naga Chaitanya recently got engaged to actor Sobhita Dhulipala in August this year.