Telangana forest minister Konda Surekha has apolgised over her remarks alleging Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader K.T. Rama Rao's involvement in the divorce of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya.
KTR, who is the son of ex-CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, sent a legal notice to Surekha to retract her statement and apologise. Samantha said her divorce was a "personal matter", asking the minister to keep her name out of political battles. Naga Chaitanya said the minister's claim is "not only false, it is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable."
'I unconditionally retract my comments': Konda Surekha
Following this, Surekha took to her X handle, saying, "The intention of my comments was 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..."
"If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments.. Don't think otherwise," added the minister.
She sparked controversy after alleging that KTR was the main reason for divorce between the former actor couple, adding that because of him Telugu actresses quit their career and marry early.
'We will not sit quietly': Jr NTR
Several actors including Jr NTR also slammed Surekha's remarks as a “new low", adding that public figures “must maintain dignity and respect for privacy”.
"It’s disheartening to see baseless statements thrown around carelessly, especially about the film industry," he said, "We will not sit quietly while others make baseless allegations against us. We should rise above this and maintain respect for each other’s boundaries. Let’s ensure our society does not normalize such reckless behaviour in democratic India."
'Film Industry Will Not Tolerate': Chiranjeevi
Chiranjeevi said he is pained to see the "disgraceful remarks" made by the "woman minister". He pointed out that it a shame that celebs and members of film fraternity become soft targets as tehy provide instant reach and attention. "We as Film Industry stand united in opposing such vicious verbal assaults on our members," he added.
The actor said no should stoop low for scoring brownie points by dragging others into their "political slugfest". With the hashtag, “Film Industry Will Not Tolerate", he stated, "We choose our leaders to make the society a better place to live in, and not contaminate it by lowering the discourse. Politicians and people in honourable positions should set better examples."
'Against the values of Telugu culture': Allu Arjun
Pushpa fame Allu Arjun also posted the hashtag "#FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate", saying he strongly condemns the "baseless derogatory" remarks about actors and their families. He said it is against the values of Telugu culture and such comments should not be normalised. "I urge the parties involved to act more responsibly and respect individual privacy, especially towards women," he said.
'Baseless rubbish': Nani
Actor Nani said it is disgusting that politicians think they can get away by saying "any kind of nonsense." He said that it is not about any political party, adding that "When your words can be so irresponsible it’s stupid of us to expect that you will have any responsibility for your people."
He added that it is not right for a minister to make such "baseless rubbish" in front of media and think it is fine. "We all should condemn such practice which will reflect poorly on our society,” he added.
'Completely ridiculous gossips': Naga Chaitanya
Akkineni Naga Chaitanya said divorce is easily one of the most painful and unfortunate life decisions one has to make, adding that they made the decision in peace because of their different life goals and in the interest of moving forward with respect and dignity as two mature adults. He slammed "baseless and completely ridiculous gossips" about their divorce, pointing out that he kept silence out of "deep respect for my earlier spouse as well as my family."
Slamming the minister, he stated that women should be supported and respected and exploiting the personal life decisions of celebrities "for the sake of media headlines is shameful".
'Our divorce was mutual and amicable': Samantha
Samantha earlier said that being a woman, it takes a lot of courage "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." Pointing out that her divorce decision was "mutual and amicable" without any political row, she said, "Could you please keep my name out of political battles? I have always remained non-political and wish to continue doing so."