A heated controversy erupted in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Thursday after Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA and actor-turned-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna referred to former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy as a “psycho” during a debate on law and order.
Nandamuri Balakrishna Calls Jagan A ‘Psycho’
The debate began after BJP MLA Kamineni Srinivas accused the previous YSRCP government of neglecting the Telugu film industry. He alleged that during Jagan’s tenure as Chief Minister, film actors seeking a meet with him were ignored, and it was only after the intervention of megastar Chiranjeevi that a meeting took place.
Balakrishna, however, rejected Srinivas’s claim, asserting that Chiranjeevi had not urged Jagan to meet film personalities. Instead, he claimed he (Balakrishna) was personally invited to meet the “psycho” but declined, as per reports. His remark sparked immediate uproar, with ruling YSRCP members strongly protesting the comment.
The exchange quickly escalated into a war of words, with senior YSRCP leaders retaliating by questioning Balakrishna’s own mental stability.
Chiranjeevi’s Statement On Row
Amid the escalating row, former Union Minister Chiranjeevi issued a clarification. In his statement, he explained that he had intervened only after industry stakeholders approached him with concerns about rising production costs and ticket pricing during Jagan’s tenure. He said he coordinated with then Minister Perni Nani and discussed the industry’s concerns with Jagan over lunch, following which the ticket pricing policy was revised.
Chiranjeevi added that the move had benefitted the entire industry, including Balakrishna’s own film Veera Simha Reddy.
Responding to Chiranjeevi’s statement, YSRCP leader Margani Bharat said, as per ANI, “The truth has come out. Jagan always stood with the film industry. This opportunistic politics must end.”
Meanwhile, TDP and Janasena leaders have multiple times accused Jagan not being responsive to Tollywood.
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