Loan waiver reports: Kerala Congress and Preity Zinta in X spat

Mumbai, Feb 25 (PTI) Actor Preity Zinta on Tuesday termed “vile gossip” an X post by Congress’ Kerala unit alleging that she had handed her social media accounts to the BJP and got a Rs 18 crore loan waiver. The Congress Kerala backtracked soon after and said it was just sharing media reports and is glad to accept mistakes if any.

At the heart of the controversy is the Reserve Bank of India dissolving the New India Co-operative Bank’s board on February 15 amid reports of financial irregularities.

On Monday, Congress Kerala’s X account posted a news article with a caption that Zinta gave her social media accounts to BJP to get a Rs 18 crore write off and depositors are on the streets now that the bank has collapsed.

A furious Zinta hit back with a counter post on Tuesday morning, slamming the political party for spreading fake news.

“No, I operate my social media accounts myself and shame on you for promoting FAKE NEWS! No one wrote off anything or any loan for me. I’m shocked that a political party or their representative is promoting fake news & indulging in vile gossip and click baits using my name & images. For the record, a loan was taken and FULLY PAID BACK – over 10 years ago. Hope this clarifies and helps so there are no misunderstandings in the future,” she wrote.

The “Veer Zaara” star also blasted journalists for spreading fake news and calling for accountability.

The Congress Kerala posted a clarification after Zinta’s statement, saying it was good to know that she was operating her social media accounts unlike other celebrities who have handed theirs to “the IT cell”.

“Thanks for the clarification, @realpreityzinta regarding your loan position. We are glad to accept mistakes if we have made any. We shared the news as reported by media outlets. According to media outlets which reported this story, ex-employees of New India Cooperative Bank had warned the RBI in a letter they wrote in January 2020 about the corrupt practices that was going on in the bank. In that report, your name along with many others were mentioned.

“We are standing with the depositors who lost their savings. If the reports are wrong, we request you to clear the air with proof once for all and raise your voice in their interest too,” the post read.