Preity Zinta slams Kerala Congress over loan waiver reports

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 Cooperative Bank’s board on February 15 amid reports of financial irregularities.

On Monday, Congress Kerala’s X account posted a news article claiming that Zinta handed over her social media accounts to the BJP in exchange for an Rs 18 crore write-off, while depositors are now on the streets after the bank’s collapse. A furious Zinta hit back on Tuesday, slamming the 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. For the record, a loan was taken and fully paid back — over 10 years ago,” she wrote.

The Congress Kerala later said, “We shared the news as reported by media outlets. 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.”