Hyderabad : Telangana Minister Konda Surekha issued a clarification on Thursday after she sparked a major controversy following her remark linking actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce to Bharat Rashtra Samiti, working President KT Rama Rao.
Taking to social media platform X, the Congress leader said that her remark was in order to question KT Rama Rao for "belittling women" and not to hurt Samantha Prabhu's sentiments.
She further stated that she would "unconditionally" retract her comments if she or her fans were offended by them.
"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," Surekha said.
This came in the wake of a major controversy sparked by the Congress leader's comment linking actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce to Bharat Rashtra Samiti, working President KT Rama Rao on Wednesday.
Surkeha alleged that KT Rama Rao used to tap the phones of the actresses and blackmail them.
"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.
Following this, Nagarjuna Akkineni condemned Surekha's remarks, saying that she should not use the lives of movie stars to criticise her opponents, and urged her to respect the privacy of others.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu also reacted to the Telangana Minister's remark and said that her divorce was a "personal matter."
Taking to the social media platform Instagram, Samantha issued a statement on Wednesday evening where she clarified that her divorce was "mutual consent and amicable" and there was no political conspiracy involved.
She further requested people to stop speculating about her divorce. Meanwhile, BRS working president KT Rama Rao sent a defamation notice to Konda Surekha over her controversial remarks.
In the legal notice, KTR stated that Surekha made the comments to "tarnish" his image and demanded an immediate withdrawal of the statements made.