Bollywood actress Preity Zinta has lashed out at the Kerala Congress for claiming that the crisis-hit New India Cooperative Bank wrote off her Rs. 18 crore loan after she gave her social media accounts to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Kerala Congress on Monday shared a news report which claimed the New India Cooperative Bank wrote off Rs. 18 crore loan of Preity Zinta and others.
Sharing the news report on X, the Kerala Congress wrote, “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.”
Preity Zinta counters
Countering the claim, Preity accused the Congress of promoting “fake news” saying she had taken the loan and paid it off to the bank 10 years ago.
The actress wrote, “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 & 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 added, “So much misinformation going around but thank god for social media and thank god for X ! All through my career I have seen so many so respected journalists get so many stories completely wrong & never have the decency to correct the story or apologise.
“I have also gone to court and spent a tonne of money fighting cases that go on & on & on. I think it’s time we start holding them responsible right here so there is some accountability in the future. I’m definitely going to start naming all these journalists that write articles without following up or investigating the stories.”
“If you don’t value my reputation then sorry I don’t value yours @suchetadalal Next time pls call me and find out if the story is true or not before mentioning my name. Just like you, I have spent years working hard and building a reputation so if you don’t care about mine I don’t care about yours. I’m done being a bigger person. This ends here.”
After the actress’ strong words, the Kerala Congress backtracked on its claim with a long note on X.
An excerpt of the Kerala Congress’ X post reads, “Good to know you’re managing your own account, unlike other celebs who have handed theirs over to the notorious 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…”
Based in Los Angeles with her husband Gene Goodenough since her marriage in 2016, Preity Zinta is a mother of twins- a boy and a girl born in 2021.
Preity, who is also the co-owner of IPL team Punjab Kings, frequently travels between the US and India.
