TRS working president and Minister of Urban Development, KT Rama Rao on Monday, September 20, stated that he has filed a defamation case against Telangana Congress president Revanth Reddy, for repeatedly insinuating that he was a drug addict. “Today I have invoked the legal process & filed a suit for defamation and injunction before the Hon’ble court. I am confident that the Court process will clenchingly vindicate the falsity of the canards & lies spread against me and the culprits will be brought to book appropriately,” KTR wrote on Twitter.
The action was followed by a “White Challenge'' issued by Revanth Reddy a day earlier, where he asked politicians and celebrities to undergo drug tests to send a positive message against the use of drugs. For this challenge, he invited KTR and former Chevella MP Konda Vishweshwar Reddy to participate. Revanth Reddy said that he would be waiting for KTR at the Telangana Martyrs' memorial at Gun Park in Nampally at 12 pm, and they could go together for a drug analysis test. At the recently held ‘Dalita Girijana Dandora’ meeting held in Gajwel, he had called KTR a “brand ambassador for drug addicts,” while his father, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was termed a “brand ambassador for drunkards.”
Revanth said that KTR was shielding Tollywood celebrities who he alleged were involved in drug-related activities. In 2017, several Tollywood actors including Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja, Rakul Preet Singh, Charmme Kaur, Navdeep and Mumaith Khan, among others, were targeted in a drug investigation. However, the Special Investigation Team did not file a chargesheet in the case, effectively leading to the closure of the case. However, the Enforcement Directorate has reopened the case and summoned the actors once again.
Today I have invoked the legal process & filed a suit for defamation and injunction before the Hon’ble court
— KTR (@KTRTRS) September 20, 2021
I am confident that the Court process will clinchingly vindicate the falsity of the canards& lies spread against me and the culprits will be brought to book appropriately
Last month too, Revanth had alleged that KTR had secretly visited Goa, insinuating that he had been using drugs. He further questioned why the state government was not cooperating with the Enforcement Directorate, which is probing the 2007 drugs case.
Responding to the “White Challenge,” KTR said that he was ready for the drug test if former president of the Indian National Congress Rahul Gandhi is willing to do the same. He further asked if Revanth Reddy would quit his post if he came out clean, and in a counter-challenge, asked if he was ready for a lie detector test regarding the ‘Note for Vote’ scandal. In this scandal, Revanth Reddy who was then with the TDP, was caught on video bribing a TRS MLA, asking him to offer support to their candidate in the 2015 MLC election.
Meanwhile, several TRS members joined the Twitter campaign with #RahulDrugTest, asking Rahul Gandhi to accept the challenge.