Actress Preity Zinta slammed the Kerala unit of Congress on Tuesday after the party’s state unit shared a news alleging that she had given control of her social media accounts to the ruling BJP to get a Rs 18 crore loan waiver, a report she dismissed as “vile gossip” aimed at getting “clicks”.
On Monday, Congress Kerala's X account posted the news article with a caption stating that Zinta gave her social media accounts to BJP to get a loan waiver, and depositors are on the streets now that the bank has collapsed.
Reacting to the post, Preity on Tuesday took to X, calling the news fake. “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 & 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 said.
“She gave her social media accounts to BJP and got 18 Cr written off and the bank collapsed last week. Depositors are on the streets for their money,” Congress Kerala wrote on X Monday, sharing a screengrab of the news report.
The Reserve Bank of India dissolved the New India Co-operative Bank's board on February 15 amid reports of financial irregularities, a development that is at the heart of the controversy.
Following Zinta’s statement, the Congress Kerala posted a clarification stating 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,” Kerala Congress’s post on X read.
"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," it further read.
Preity also slammed the propagation of fake news in the digital space, warning to take names of journalists who write reports without verifying the credibility of the information shared with them.
