Incensed by the insinuations made by Telangana Minister for Environment Konda Surekha, BRS working president K T Rama Rao on Wednesday, 2 October, slapped a defamation notice against her.
Published Oct 02, 2024 | 10:56 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 02, 2024 | 10:56 PM
Telangana minister Konda Surekha and BRS Working President KTR.
A Telangana minister’s ‘derogatory’ allegations linking BRS leader K T Rama Rao to drugs, Telugu cinema actors and holding him accountable for the divorce of a former star couple has earned her severe backlash.
Incensed by the insinuations made by Telangana Minister for Environment Konda Surekha, BRS working president K T Rama Rao on Wednesday, 2 October, slapped a defamation notice against her.
The BRS leader, in a statement, said that Surekha had dished out a tissue of lies over a phone tapping case with which he was ‘no way concerned’.
“Her comments are highly defamatory in nature. She misused her office. She spoke out rank lies. As there is a possibility that people might think what she has said might be true, I have decided to file a defamation and criminal cases against her if she does not tender a public apology within 24 hours,” he said.
KTR said that Surekha was trying to sling mud at him for deriving political benefit from. “It is unfortunate that Surekha, a woman, should stoop to the level of resorting to character assassination of another woman and those of the other film actors.
He recalled sending notices to her in April this year for her intemperate and insensitive comments. Even the Election Commission of India had warned her to mend her ways. “She is making the same comments time and again only to malign my image,” she said.
Telugu actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu reacted sharply to Surekha’s comments. In a message on X, she said: “My divorce is a personal matter, and I request that you refrain from speculating about it. Our choice to keep things private does not invite misrepresentation. My divorce was with mutual consent and amicable with no political conspiracy involved. Could you please keep my name out of political battles? I have always remained non-political and wish to continue doing so.”
Actor Nagarjuna also took serious exception to Surekha’s statement and asked her to eschew their family into the battle that she was having with her political adversaries. There have been quite a few reactions from the tinsel world in support of Samanta and Akkineni family.
Konda Surekha, earlier in the day, accused KTR of eavesdropping on phones of Samantha and her ex-husband Naga Chaitanya which had led to their divorce. She said: “KTR is the reason Naga Chaitanya and Samantha divorced. KTR is the reason many female actors are getting married and leaving the industry. He is addicted to drugs and got them (female actors) addicted as well. He held rave parties and blackmailed them.” Furthermore, she claimed that it was an open secret within the film industry.
The face-off between Surekha and the BRS was going on for the last few days after a picture was put out allegedly by the BRS activists on the social media in which BJP MP M Raghuanandan Rao was seen garlanding her. The post had suggestive comments which hurt Surekha deeply.
At a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan a couple of days ago, Surekha broke down over the social media trolling against her. Raghunandan Rao decried the post and said he would fight alongside her as her brother. BRS leader T Harish Rao had condemned the post.
(Edited by SF Desk)
