Nagarjuna sues Telangana minister for defamation

Telugu superstar Nagarjuna on Thursday filed a defamation case against Telangana minister Konda Surekha over her comments blaming opposition BRS leader KT Rama Rao for the divorce of actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya.

Prabhu and Chaitanya have criticised the minister for dragging their name into politics, saying their divorce was a mutual decision.

Nagarjuna, Chaitanya's father, had criticised the minister on Wednesday, and has now filed a defamation case against Surekha in the Nampally court under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In his complaint, a copy of which was shared by son Naga Chaitanya on his social media, Nagarjuna has alleged that the minister's remarks damaged his family's reputation.

"The statement was made with the malicious intent of conveying falsehoods to the public at large, intending to cause harm to the complainant and his family reputation for political gain and sensationalism..." the complaint said.

"The above actions constitute a criminal offence..." it added.

He has also accused Surekha of deliberately spreading false allegations, while being "fully aware" of their untruth.

Several cine personalities such as Chiranjeevi, junior NTR, Allu Arjun, Nani, Chinmayi Sripada, Venkatesh, Prakash Raj and Khushbu criticised the minister for her remarks, which she has withdrawn after the controversy.

On her Instagram Story, Samantha wrote there was "no political conspiracy" behind her split with Chaitanya, which was announced in 2021.

In his note shared on X, Chaitanya said the divorce was one of the "most painful and unfortunate" decisions of his life, and that Surekha's claims were "ridiculous".