Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 4 : Bharatiya Janata Partry (BJP) spokesperson Rachna Reddy hits out at the Congress-led Telangana government over Konda Surekha's remarks on the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, saying that the state Congress government is an 'utter disaster'.
Speaking to ANI on Thursday, BJP spokesperson Rachana Reddy said, "The government is an utter disaster in the state of Telangana. Konda Surekha dragged a couple from the film industry, their family, and their entire property, and linked their marriage. She makes a laughing stock of herself."
This came after Telangana Minister Konda Surekha's statement, where she alleged former Minister and BRS leader KT Rama Rao (KTR) of involvement in the divorce of Samantha and Naga Chaitanya.
She accused KTR of tapping the phones of actors and blackmailing them.
On Wednesday, Konda Surekha told reporters, "It is because of KT Rama Rao that Samantha's divorce happened. He was a minister at the time and would tap the phones of actresses, exploit their weaknesses, and blackmail them. He made them drug addicts, and everyone, including Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, and his family, knows about it."
BJP spokesperson Rachna Reddy said that instead of concentrating on public affairs, Konda Surekha has been talking about 'film industry stars and their personal lives.'
"Instead of concentrating on public affairs, her portfolio. she dares to talk about film industry stars and their personal lives, their professional lives, their properties, their marriages, and their divorces, and now that the entire film industry is reacting and is pushing back, she said she is retracting her statement. She did not even apologise," Rachna Reddy stated.
Further accusing the Congress government in Telangana of 'destroying the state' she said "They have done nothing in the state about policies and social welfare, they are destroying Telangana. They demolished people's homes without any due law being followed."
Meanwhile, Naga Chaitanya's father, Nagarjuna Akkineni, has filed a defamation case against Surekha following her remarks. The complaint has been filed under Section 356 Bhartiya Nayay Sanhita in the district court of Hyderabad.
The remarks from Konda Surekha have also drawn widespread criticism from the film fraternity.
Actor Mahesh Babu condemned Surekha's comments in a post on X, saying, "As a father, husband, and son, I am deeply anguished by the unacceptable remarks made by a woman minister against another woman. Freedom of speech should not hurt others' sentiments. I strongly condemn the baseless comments and urge people in public roles to stop making the film industry a soft target. Women in our country and the film industry must be treated with respect and dignity."
Vijay Deverakonda also voiced his disapproval, stating, "Struggling to express my thoughts and feelings in decent language about today's politics and politicians. We vote for them to improve infrastructure, investment, jobs, health, and education, not for this kind of behaviour. Politics cannot get any lower. Enough."
Following the backlash, Konda Surekha clarified that her remarks were intended to criticise KT Rama Rao for "belittling women" and not to hurt Samantha Prabhu. She offered an "unconditional" retraction if her comments had offended Samantha or her fans.