Ram Gopal Varma booked for offensive posts against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

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

On a complaint by a local leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a case has been registered against Varma at Maddipadu Police Station. TDP Mandal Parishad Secretary Ramalingam lodged a complaint against the controversial filmmaker, who had made the alleged derogatory comments last year against then Leader of Opposition Chandrababu Naidu and his family members. Police filed a case under IT Act and took up investigation.

RGV, as the director is popularly known, had made the comments on social media as part of the promotions for his movie Vyuham. Based on the events that led to tragic death of then Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash in 2009 and subsequent formation of YSR Congress Party by his son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the movie was released late last year in the run-up to simultaneous polls to Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Lok Sabha.

Considered close to YSR Congress, RGV has been a bitter critic of Chandrababu Naidu. He had earlier made the movie Lakshmi's NTR on the love and marriage of TDP founder and former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao (NTR) with Lakshmi Parvathi. The film also portrayed the controversial role of NTR's son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu who had led a revolt against NTR in 1995 to become the Chief Minister.

RGV had allegedly made derogatory comments on several occasions against Naidu, Lokesh and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, who is now the Deputy Chief Minister. The case against RGV has been registered at a time when the coalition government of TDP, Jana Sena and BJP is going after YSRCP social media activists and its supporters who had targeted TDP and Jana Sena leaders when YSRCP was in power. During the last few days, several YSRCP leaders, workers and supporters have been arrested for derogatory comments made in the past. 

In December last year, RGV had lodged an online complaint with Andhra Pradesh police against activist Kolikapudi Sreenivas Rao for offering Rs 1 crore bounty on his head. He alleged that Sreenivas Rao was 'cleverly aided' by an anchor on TV 5 channel to repeat the contract killing. The filmmaker had alleged that TDP and its supremo Chandrababu Naidu's representatives were publicly on supportive TV channels offering monetary contracts to cut people's heads. RGV had also slammed Chandrababu Naidu, Lokesh and Pawan Kalyan for a protest outside his office in Hyderabad on Vyuham. (With inputs from IANS)

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