Preity Zinta Clashes with Kerala Congress Over ₹18 Crore Loan

On Tuesday, Bollywood actress Preity Zinta and the Kerala Congress traded barbs after the party claimed she had her ₹18 crore loan forgiven and had given control of her social media accounts to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Kerala Congress hit back, urging Preity Zinta to provide “evidence” to support her statements and “clear the confusion.”

Preity Zinta criticized the Kerala Congress for “spreading fake news.”

Preity Zinta, expressing “shock” over a political party “promoting fake news,” stated that she “fully paid back” the loan over a decade ago.

The Kerala Congress had previously alleged in a post that the ‘Veer Zaara’ actress “handed over her social media accounts to the BJP and had ₹18 crore written off.”

Preity Zinta responded, stating, “I personally manage my social media accounts. Shame on you for spreading FAKE NEWS! No one wrote off any loan for me. “I’m appalled that a political party or its representative spreads false information, gossips maliciously, and exploits my name and images for clickbait,” she wrote in a post on X.

She further clarified, “For the record, I took a loan and FULLY PAID IT BACK over 10 years ago. “I hope this clears things up and prevents any future misunderstandings.”

In a follow-up post, the actress expressed her frustration with media outlets for not verifying the information before reporting it.

She added, “So much false information spreads, but thank goodness for social media and thank goodness for X!”

Preity Zinta criticized media outlets for misreporting and avoiding accountability. “It’s time to hold them accountable for future responsibility,” she said. She added, “Next time, please verify the story with me before using my name.”

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Kerala Congress responds

In response to the actor’s post, the Kerala Congress wrote on X, “It’s good to hear you’re managing your own account, unlike other celebrities who have handed theirs over to the infamous IT cell. Thank you for the clarification, @realpreityzinta, regarding your loan situation. “We’re open to acknowledging our mistakes if we made any. We shared the news as the media outlets reported it.”

The party referenced a report that claimed former employees of New India Cooperative Bank had written to the RBI in 2020, raising concerns about alleged corruption in the bank under chairman Hiren Bhanu.

The post read, “The report mentions your name, along with others. Excerpts from the story are as follows: In January 2020, former employees of New India Cooperative Bank Ltd alerted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about the bank’s malfunctioning operations and alleged corrupt practices. However, the RBI did not take timely action, according to a report from http://IndianCooperative.com.

The report further states that on 29 January 2020, former employees of the bank sent a letter to the executive director (ED) of RBI’s regulations department, detailing significant irregularities, financial mismanagement, corruption, and unethical practices within the bank under the leadership of chairman Hiren Bhanu,” the party posted.

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Preity Zinta’s views on social media criticism

Earlier, Preity Zinta had commented on the rising cynicism on social media, particularly towards public figures.

“If you appreciate your PM, you are a bhakt… if you are a proud Hindu or Indian, then you’re an ‘Andh Bhakt’! She posted, “Let’s keep it real, folks, and accept people for who they are, not who we think they should be!”

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