Konda Surekha regrets personal remarks against KT Rama Rao amid defamation case
Synopsis
Cornered by an active court-issued Non-Bailable Warrant, sacked Telangana minister Konda Surekha reversed course on 29 October, publicly withdrawing remarks she had once refused to retract — remarks linking BRS's KT Rama Rao to the Naga Chaitanya-Samantha divorce. Whether Rama Rao accepts the apology and drops the defamation case, as Nagarjuna did last year, is now the pivotal question.
Key Takeaways
Konda Surekha posted a public apology on X on 29 October 2026 , withdrawing personal remarks made against K.T.
Her original remarks, made on 2 October 2024 , linked Rama Rao to the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha .
A city court issued a Non-Bailable Warrant against Surekha in December 2025 under Section 356 of the BNS , read with Sections 222 and 223 .
Actor Nagarjuna had separately filed and subsequently withdrawn a defamation case in November 2025 after Surekha's earlier clarification.
Surekha was removed from the Telangana Cabinet last month over remarks made by her daughter against CM A.
Rama Rao's legal team had not formally responded to the apology at the time of reporting.
Former Telangana minister and Congress MLA Konda Surekha has publicly expressed regret over personal remarks she made against Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao in 2024, posting a clarification on X on Thursday, 29 October. The development comes as Surekha faces active defamation proceedings initiated by Rama Rao, with a city court having issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against her.
What Surekha Said
In her post on X, Surekha clarified that her earlier comments were made in the context of the political climate at the time while criticising the Opposition, and were not intentional. 'I should not have made those baseless remarks. I had absolutely no malicious intent to cause pain to KTR or his family members, nor did I intend to damage their reputation,' she said.
'If my comments caused any hurt to him or his family, I express my regret and hereby withdraw those remarks,' she added. This marks a significant reversal — Surekha had previously refused to retract the remarks even after Rama Rao issued a formal legal notice demanding an apology.
The 2024 Remarks and Legal Fallout
The controversy traces back to 2 October 2024, when Surekha, then a serving minister in the Telangana Cabinet, made remarks linking K.T. Rama Rao to the much-publicised divorce between actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha. Actor Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya's father, swiftly filed a defamation case, arguing the statement damaged his family's dignity and reputation.
In November 2025, Nagarjuna withdrew his defamation case after Surekha clarified on X that her remarks were not intended to hurt him or his family. However, Rama Rao's parallel defamation proceedings continued. A city court, after reviewing preliminary evidence, found prima facie material to proceed under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), read with Sections 222 and 223, and issued an NBW against Surekha in December 2025.
Surekha's Political Context
This apology arrives at a particularly fraught moment for Surekha. She was removed from the Telangana Cabinet last month following remarks made by her daughter against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy. The twin controversies — one involving an intra-party tension, another a legacy defamation dispute — have placed the Congress MLA under sustained political and legal pressure.
Notably, this is not the first time Surekha has had to walk back statements made on the platform X. The Nagarjuna case set a precedent, and critics argue she was forced to act now with the KTR defamation case advancing through court.
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether Rama Rao's legal team will accept Surekha's expression of regret as sufficient grounds to withdraw the defamation proceedings, as Nagarjuna did last year. As of the filing of this report, neither the BRS nor Rama Rao's legal counsel had issued a formal response to her statement. The court proceedings are expected to continue unless Rama Rao formally moves for withdrawal.
Point of View
Even after a formal notice from Rama Rao, stands in stark contrast to this reversal, which arrives only after a Non-Bailable Warrant was issued. The Nagarjuna precedent is instructive: an apology on X was enough to close that case, and Surekha is clearly hoping the same template works with the BRS leader. What this episode also exposes is how easily political rhetoric in Telangana spills into personal attacks that drag in film families and end up in criminal courts — a pattern that corrodes public discourse regardless of which party is doing the attacking.
NationPress
29 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What remarks did Konda Surekha make against KT Rama Rao?
On 2 October 2024, Surekha, then a Telangana minister, made statements linking K.T. Rama Rao to the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha. She has now withdrawn those remarks, calling them 'baseless' and saying they were made in a political context without intent to harm.
Why was Konda Surekha removed from the Telangana Cabinet?
Surekha was sacked from the Telangana Cabinet last month over remarks made by her daughter against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, not directly related to the KT Rama Rao defamation dispute. The twin controversies have significantly weakened her political standing within the Congress.
What is the defamation case against Konda Surekha?
K.T. Rama Rao initiated defamation proceedings after Surekha initially refused to retract her October 2024 remarks despite a legal notice. A Hyderabad city court issued a Non-Bailable Warrant against her in December 2025, finding prima facie grounds under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita read with Sections 222 and 223.
What happened to the defamation case filed by Nagarjuna?
Actor Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya's father, filed a separate defamation case over the same remarks. He withdrew it in November 2025 after Surekha clarified on X that her comments were not intended to hurt him or his family. Rama Rao's case, however, continued.
Will KT Rama Rao drop the defamation case after Surekha's apology?
As of 29 October, neither K.T. Rama Rao nor his legal team had issued a formal response to Surekha's public apology. Whether he chooses to withdraw proceedings — as Nagarjuna did following a similar clarification — remains to be seen.
