Preity Zinta takes clean slog at Kerala unit of Congress, which alleged that she was given an ₹18 crore loan waiver because she handed her social media accounts to the BJP. Termed these claims as “fake news” and expressed shock that a political party would propagate misleading information.
Allegation by Kerala Congress
The trouble started when Kerala Congress claimed through its official social media handle that Preity Zinta struck a deal with the BJP to get her ₹18 crore loan from the New India Cooperative Bank waived. The post read, “She gave her social media accounts to the BJP and got 18 Cr written off, and the bank collapsed last week. Depositors are on the streets for their money.”
Preity Zinta’s Response
In her response, Preity Zinta took to X (formerly Twitter) to reject the allegations. She added that she personally runs social media accounts and condemned the spread of misinformation. The actress said:
“No, I handle my social media accounts myself, and if this were to come out, then it’d be the height of FAKE NEWS! Nobody wrote off any loan for me. I am shocked that a political party or its representative promotes FAKE NEWS and gossip and clickbaits using my name and pictures.”
In further defense, she explained the actual status of the loan in question:
“To clarify, a loan was taken by me, and it was paid back a full decade ago. Hope this puts any lingering doubt to rest.”
Vengeance of the Congress in Kerala
Zinta’s rejection drew the Kerala Congress to her response, which assured the initial one was the “truth,” based on existing media news. The reply went, therefore:
“It is good to learn you are handling your own account, unlike other celebs who threw it to the malefactors of an IT cell. Thanks for your clarification, @realpreityzinta, regarding your loan position. We shall not hesitate to accept our own mistakes if we have made any. We had only shared the news as was duly reported by the media.”
The article cited by IndianCooperative.com stated that former employees of the New India Cooperative Bank had made formal complaints regarding financial irregularities and corruption to the RBI as early as January 2020. It also stated that the ₹18 crore loan that Zinta obtained from this bank has been written off without a proper recovery.
Background on New India Cooperative Bank
The bank has come under scrutiny over the past few months for its financial instability. The RBI imposed strictures such as prohibiting the bank from extending new loans, accepting fresh deposits, or allowing withdrawals. This evoked confusion and tension among depositors. Their troubles multiplied when about ₹122 crore went missing from two branches of the bank during inspection.
Given this, the RBI had permitted existing depositors to mitigate some losses by allowing them to withdraw ₹25,000 from their accounts.
Desperation, bitterness, anguish, a bad hand…many are tied up with the way that misinformation tends to march off when public figures are brought into the mix.
While political units are not beholden to the media for the conclusive rebuttals to their assertions, it’s good practice to observe that facts can substantiate truthful claims before they’re offered as something with the potential to muddy reputations. Zinta’s firm wipe of her brow is an emphatic reminder that staying clear of spurious claims around a man’s reputation is its foremost and most rational one could hope for.
