HYDERABAD: BRS working president KT Rama Rao filed a civil defamation suit before the City Civil Court, Hyderabad, against Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, seeking damages of Rs 10 crore for levelling “false, malicious and defamatory” allegations.
In his plaint, filed through his counsel P Viswajanani of PV Janani and Associates, Rama Rao also impleaded several media organisations and social media platforms that carried or circulated the statements. The suit seeks mandatory removal of the defamatory content, an unconditional public apology from the MoS, and a perpetual injunction restraining further defamatory publications.
He stated that on August 8, 2025, Bandi Sanjay, during a press meet, made baseless remarks, linking him to illegal phone tapping and financial irregularities. These comments, he said, were carried widely across television networks. The content was also spread through social media platforms, he said.
He argued that such remarks were made with political vendetta and amounted to a “vicious smear campaign” designed to tarnish his reputation.
Won’t be cowed down: Bandi
Reacting to Rama Rao’s suit, Sanjay said that he is not bothered by the case as he has faith in the judiciary. Recalling that KTR filed a `100 crore defamation suit in 2022, he asked what happened to that case. “Can’t I file a defamation case against KCR for stating that my head be cut into six pieces?” he asked.
He asserted that he would not be cowed down by such cases. “I have boldly faced all the cases filed by the BRS government against me. But I have never filed any cases against them,” he said and added that he would face them politically.