Hyderabad: Telugu actor Naga Chaitanya slammed Telangana Congress Minister Konda Surekha for her remarks about his divorce from ex-wife and actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu.
Taking to his X account on Wednesday, the actor issued a statement calling Surekha's allegations "absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable." He emphasized that the decision regarding his divorce was mutual.
"The decision of divorce is easily one of the most painful and unfortunate life decisions one has to make. After a lot of thought, a mutual decision was made by my former spouse and me 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," his statement read.
Addressing the rumors as "baseless and completely ridiculous," the actor added, "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."
Lashing out at Surekha, Naga stated, "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 of and exploiting personal life decisions of celebrities for the sake of media headlines is shameful."
Earlier on Wednesday, Samantha Ruth Prabhu also responded to Surekha's remarks, stating that her divorce was a "personal matter."
Samantha took to her Instagram story on Wednesday evening to clarify that her divorce was based on "mutual consent and amicable" terms, with no political conspiracy involved. She also requested that people stop speculating about her divorce.
"To be a woman, to come out and work, to survive in a glamorous industry where women are often treated as props, to fall in love and to fall out of love, and to still stand up and fight... it takes a lot of courage and strength," the statement read.
This came after Congress leader K. Surekha linked K.T. Rama Rao to the separation of Samantha and Naga Chaitanya, alleging that KTR used to tap the phones of actresses and blackmail them.
Speaking to the media, Surekha said, "It is K.T. Rama Rao because of whom Samantha's divorce happened. He was a minister at that time and used to tap the phones of actresses to find their weaknesses and blackmail them. He used to make them drug addicts and then do this. Everyone knows this, including Samantha, Naga Chaitanya, and his family; everybody is aware that such a thing happened."
Surekha's remarks sparked massive controversy, with several BRS leaders and superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni condemning her statements.
