Telangana's Forests Minister Konda Surekha on Wednesday triggered a massive row after allegations against Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader KT Rama Rao and linking him with the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu. Her controversial statements brought sharp criticism from Naga Chaitanya's father, veteran Telugu actor Nagarjuna Akkineni, who said her statements are "completely irrelevant and false" and demanded that she withdraws them.
"I strongly condemn the comments of the Honorable 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," read a rough translation of his post on X, formerly Twitter.
"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," he added.
However, KT Rama Rao has not commented on the matter but his party leader Harish Rao Thanneeru demanded an unconditional apology from the Congress leader.
Launching a scathing attack on KT Rama Rao, son of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Surekha said he was the reason why many actresses left the film industry and married early. She went on to say that KT Rama Rao blackmailed film personalities after getting them addicted to drugs.
She also stated that she suspected that the BRS leader was behind a series of offensive posts against her.
It should be noted that Naga Chaitanya, who parted ways with Samantha Ruth Prabhu two years ago, recently got engaged to actor Sobhita Dhulipala in August.