Amid the massive backlash surrounding her remark on the divorce of celebrity couple Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Telangana Minister Konda Surekha apologised to the actors and their families, but did not back down from her allegations against Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader KT Rama Rao. She also stressed that Mr Rao, also known as KTR, must apologise.

Ms Surekha has alleged that KTR, a former minister, tapped the phones of actresses and blackmailed them. In this connection, she said he was behind the divorce of Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya. “It is KT Rama Rao because of whom (actress) Samantha’s divorce happened… He was a minister at that time and used to tap the phones of the actresses and then find their weaknesses to blackmail them… He used to make them drug addicts and then do this… Everyone knows this, Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, his family — everybody is aware that such a thing happened,” she said.

The remarks sparked a massive row. Both Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya are top actors. Naga Chaitanya also belongs to the Akkineni family, among the most influential families in the Telugu film industry.

Nagarjuna Akkineni, his father and veteran actor, responded sharply to the minister’s remarks. “I strongly condemn the comments of the Honorable Minister Mrs. 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. 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 said. 

Naga Chaitanya and Samanth Ruth Prabhu responded too.

Naga Chaitanya said the decision of a divorce is “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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu said it takes a lot of courage and strength for a woman to survive in a glamorous industry where women are more often than not treated as props. “Konda Surekha Garu, I am proud of what this journey turned me into please don’t trivialise it. I hope you realise that your words carry significant weight as a minister. I implore you to be responsible and respectful of individuals’ privacy. My divorce is a personal matter, and I request that you refrain from speculating about it. Our choice to keep things private doesn’t invite misrepresentation,” she said in a social media post. “To clarify: my divorce was 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,” she added.

Top actors, including Chiranjeevi, Jr NTR, Allu Arjun and Nani, slammed the minister’s remarks.

Amid the backlash, Ms Surekha earlier responded to Samantha Ruth Prabhu and said she did not intend to hurt her sentiments.

“My comments are meant to question a leader’s belittling of women and not to hurt your (Samantha Prabhu) 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,” she said.

Former minister KTR has, meanwhile, sent a defamation notice to Ms Surekha. He has accused the ruling Congress of “disgusting and nauseating politics” and requested its leader Rahul Gandhi to send the minister to a mental health specialist.