The Congress high command has reportedly taken serious note of Telangana state cabinet minister Konda Surekha's controversial remarks on the divorce of Telugu actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, and speculations are rife that the minister is likely to face the axe.
Surekha had alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader K.T. Rama Rao, who was the son of former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, was responsible for the separation of Samantha and Naga Chaitanya. The duo were married for four years before parting ways in 2021. Naga Chaitanya is now engaged to actor Sobhita Dhulipala.
According to party sources, several Congress leaders want the forest minister to step down, and have already conveyed their concerns to the party leadership in Delhi. The party is now in damage control mode post the severe backlash from the Telugu film industry and fans alike.
For an industry plagued by groupism, individual interests, and professional rivalries, it was interesting to see Telugu film stars rallying behind Samantha and Naga Chaitanya, and criticising Surekha's remarks in one voice. Following the widespread criticism, Surekha apologised for her remark.
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At the centr of the controversy is a BRS supporter, who has now deactivated his/her X (formerly Twitter) account after the row broke out. During a recent government event in central Telangana, Surekha was joined by local MP and BJP leader Raghunandan Rao. A photo of the two leaders together was posted by the X user @MR1BRS, who took a dig at them. The minister took offence to the post, broke down at a meeting, and accused the BRS of orchestrating the attack. She challenged the BRS to either discipline its supporters or publicly distance itself from the user. She blamed KTR for encouraging trolls to target her.
Surekha then went on to blame KTR for the divorce of Naga Chaitanya and Samantha. She alleged that KTR had offered to save a commercial property owned by actor Nagarjuna—N Convention—in exchange for an affair with Samantha, his daughter-in-law. She further claimed that Nagarjuna agreed to the proposal, but Samantha refused, which ultimately led to her divorce. The minister also accused KTR of being a drug user who blackmailed actresses by tapping their phone conversations, and even dragged actress Rakul Preet Singh into the controversy.
Nagarjuna, along with his wife Amala and sons, Naga Chaitanya and Akhil, strongly objected to the allegations on social media. He later filed a legal complaint against Surekha, which Naga Chaitanya posted online. What followed was a large-scale, organized campaign from the Tollywood industry. Top stars like Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun and several others, used the hashtag #FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate to show their support for Nagarjuna, a prominent and influential figure in the industry.
Though Samantha also objected to the comments via her social media accounts, the industry seemed to rally more around Nagarjuna. The Congress government had previously clashed with Nagarjuna after part of his commercial property was demolished due to alleged violations. With the controversy escalating into a potential 'Tollywood vs Congress’ situation, the party is eager to contain the fallout.
Surekha has since attempted to retract her statements targeting the actors, but Tollywood is in no mood to forgive. In a fresh outburst, Surekha directed her comments solely at KTR, claiming he was responsible for KCR's absence from the public eye.
The ball is now in the Congress party’s court as they work to douse the fire.