Telugu superstar Nagarjuna
Credit: X/@iamnagarjuna
Telugu superstar Nagarjuna is set to pursue another defamation suit against minister Konda Surekha, who triggered a storm for her comments on the divorce of actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya.
While Telangana Minister Konda Surekha on Thursday withdrew her remarks that triggered strong reactions from across the political and cine industries, Nagarjuna, who had earlier filed a criminal defamation lawsuit against her, has now confirmed to Times Now that he is in the process of filing another Rs 100-crore defamation lawsuit against her.
He said, "The slander has gone far beyond just me and my family.”
Rejecting the minister's apology to Samantha Ruth Prabhu, he asked, "What about my family? Not a word of apology to me and to my family!”
He also made it clear that he will not withdraw the complaint. "No. Not at all. This is no longer personal. The slander has gone far beyond just me and my family. The support we’ve received from the biggest to the smallest of names in the Telugu industry has made me realise we are in the process of stemming the rot that has seeped into the core of our system. You can’t use our names for political gains."
“We in the entertainment industry won’t be soft targets anymore. It’s as simple as that," Nagarjuna added, explaining his stance on the issue.
Congress leader Surekha on Wednesday stirred up a major controversy by alleging that KTR was the reason behind Prabhu and Chaitanya's divorce in 2021. Many prominent personalities from the Telugu film industry hit out at the minister for her remarks.
As the row continued, the Congress' Telangana unit intervened, urging the cinema industry to put an end to the matter as Surekha had withdrawn her controversial remarks.
Speaking to mediapersons, Surekha said she had to take the names of the actors after she became emotional over the comments made by the Rama Rao, the BRS Working president, about her.
"I had to criticise him (Rama Rao). I do not have any personal animosity towards anyone. Taking the name of a family was inadvertent. I felt really bad after seeing her tweet (Samantha's Instagram). Last night itself, I posted a message unconditionally withdrawing my comments," Surekha said.
(With PTI inputs)