Police in Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam district have filed a case against filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, his son and state minister Nara Lokesh, and daughter-in-law Brahmini.


Ram Gopal Verma booked for derogatory remarks on AP CM Chandrababu Naidu


The case was registered at Maddipadu Police Station after a complaint by a local Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader, Ramalingam, who is the Mandal Parishad Secretary. The complaint was based on comments made by Varma last year targeting the then Leader of Opposition, Chandrababu Naidu, and his family members.


The police have charged Varma under the IT Act and have launched an investigation.


Varma, popularly known as RGV, had posted these remarks on social media as part of promoting his film 'Vyuham.' This movie, which came out late last year ahead of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, was based on the events following the tragic death of then Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in a 2009 helicopter crash and the subsequent formation of YSR Congress Party by his son, Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.


RGV, who is known to have close ties with the YSR Congress Party, has often been critical of Chandrababu Naidu. Previously, he made a film titled 'Lakshmi's NTR,' which focused on the relationship and marriage between TDP founder and former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) and Lakshmi Parvathi, as well as the pivotal role Chandrababu Naidu played in a 1995 political coup that led to NTR’s ouster and Naidu becoming Chief Minister.


Ram Gopal Verma's past record


Varma has previously made critical remarks about Naidu, Lokesh, and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, who is currently the Deputy Chief Minister. This recent case against Varma comes as the coalition government of TDP, Jana Sena, and BJP pursues action against YSR Congress Party supporters and social media activists who criticized TDP and Jana Sena leaders when the YSRCP was in power.


In recent days, numerous YSRCP leaders and supporters have been arrested for past derogatory comments. Last December, RGV himself filed an online complaint against activist Kolikapudi Sreenivas Rao, who offered a Rs 1 crore bounty on Varma’s head. Varma claimed that Rao was encouraged by a TV 5 channel anchor to repeat this threat, and he accused TDP and its leader Chandrababu Naidu's representatives of publicly supporting calls for violence on certain TV channels.


Varma had also condemned protests led by Chandrababu Naidu, Lokesh, and Pawan Kalyan outside his Hyderabad office following the release of 'Vyuham.'


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