Telangana’s Forests Minister Konda Surekha got caught in the eye of storm following her controversial remark about Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya. The Minister made serious allegations against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao (KTR), and linked him to the divorce of the aforementioned actors. Her statement faced criticism from several celebrities, including Samanth and actor Nagarjuna Akkineni – father of Naga Chaitanya. Hours later, Samantha’s former husband also took to his Instagram handle to express his disapproval and support his ex-wife.
Without mentioning Samantha’s name, he wrote, “The decision of divorce is easily one of the most painful and unfortunate life decisions one has to make. After a lot of thought, a mutual decision was made by me and my former spouse to part ways. It was a decision made in peace, owing to our different life goals and in the interest of moving forward with respect and dignity as two mature adults. However, there have been various baseless and completely ridiculous gossips on the matter so far. I have remained silent all this while out of deep respect for my earlier spouse as well as my family.”
Further highlighting Konda’s comment, he added, “Today, the claim made by Minister Konda surekha garu is not only false, it is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable. Women deserve to be supported and respected. Taking advantage and exploiting the personal life decisions of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful.”
Konda Surekha Retracts Statement
Amid all the backlash, the minister took to her X handle and offered a clarification in the matter. She wrote in Telugu, “My comments are meant to point out how a leader is belittling woman and not to hurt your sentiments, @Samantha. The way you have grown exponentially with self-power is something I admire and aspire to. If you or your fans have been offended by my words, I unconditionally retract them. Please do not take it otherwise,” she wrote in Telugu.
The Controversy
In the comment that caught eyeballs, Konda accused former Telangana chief minister Chandrasekara Rao’s son KTR for being the reason behind Naga Chaitanya and Samantha’s divorce. She further claimed that the BRS is targeting and harassing other female leaders in Telangana.
Soon after Samantha shared an official statement on the matter. She took to her Instagram story and clarified that her divorce was with “mutual consent and amicable” and no third party was involved in the matter. “To be a woman, 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… It takes a lot of courage and strength,” the statement read.
