Konda Surekha Withdraws Remarks on KTR, Cites Regret

Hyderabad, October 29: Former minister and Congress legislator Konda Surekha has voiced regret over personal remarks she made against K.T. Rama Rao, the working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), two years ago.

The former minister was removed from the Telangana cabinet last month because of certain comments her daughter made against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. On Thursday, Surekha posted a clarification on X concerning the personal remarks she had made about Rama Rao in 2024.

In her clarification, she explained that the comments were made while she was criticising the opposition during a heated political period. She insisted that she never meant to make such remarks.

Surekha said, "I should not have made those comments, which had no basis. I never wanted to hurt K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) or his family or damage his reputation."

"If my comments have caused any pain to him or his family, I apologise for it and withdraw those statements," she added.

The minister had allegedly made a defamatory statement about KTR on October 2, 2024. She had attributed the breakup of actor Naga Chaitanya and Samantha to him.

Actor Nagarjuna, the father of Naga Chaitanya, had filed a defamation suit against her, arguing that her remarks had harmed his family's dignity and reputation.

In November 2025, after Surekha expressed regret for her statement, Nagarjuna withdrew the suit. The actor did so once Surekha clarified on X that her remarks were not aimed at him or his family members.

Rama Rao, meanwhile, had sent her a legal notice demanding that she retract her statement and apologise. Surekha, however, said she stood by her comments about the BRS leader. Rama Rao subsequently started defamation proceedings against her.

In December last year, a city court issued a non-bailable warrant against Surekha. After reviewing the initial evidence produced by the complainant, the court found sufficient prima facie grounds to proceed under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 222 of the BNS, read with Section 223.