Mumbai: 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.
In response, the Congress Kerala posted a clarification stating: “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… 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.”