Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya record statements in defamation case against Telangana minister

Popular actor Nagarjuna Akkineni and his actor son Naga Chaitanya on Wednesday recorded their statements at a city court in the criminal defamation case filed by them against Telangana minister Konda Surekha.They appeared in the Nampally Metropolitan Magistrate Court and recorded their statements before the judge. Nagarjuna told media persons outside the court that the matter is before the court, which will decide it.On October 2 last year, the Minister for Forest and Environment Konda Surekha made certain comments on the divorce of Nagarjuna's son Naga Chaitanya and actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. She had blamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K. T. Rama Rao for the divorce.Samantha had issued a statement clarifying that her divorce was with mutual consent and amicable. She urged the minister not to trivialise her journey and to be responsible and respectful of individuals' privacy.Konda Surekha later posted on X that she was withdrawing her comments. The minister said that her comments were not meant to hurt her sentiments but to question a leader's belittling of women.However, Nagarjuna filed a petition in a city court against the minister under section 356 of BNS.He stated that the minister's remarks harmed the dignity and reputation of his family. Nagarjuna had said that the minister had made disrespectful comments about his family, particularly regarding the divorce of his son, Naga Chaitanya, from Samantha.The actor complained that Konda Sureskha's remarks tarnished his family's reputation, which has been built over decades through their work in the film industry and social service initiatives.The court in October last year recorded the statements of Yarlagadda Supriya and Venkateshwar Metla as witnesses in the case.Though BRS leader Rama Rao issued a legal notice asking the minister to retract her statement and apologise, she said she was standing by her comments about the BRS leader.Following this, Rama Rao also initiated defamation proceedings against the minister.