Ms Zinta said a loan was taken, but paid back over 10 years ago.
Slamming the Kerala unit of the Congress for alleging that she had got a Rs 18-crore loan from the crisis-hit New India Cooperative Bank written off by "giving her social media accounts to the BJP", actor Preity Zinta has accused the party of indulging in "vile gossip" and said the loan amount was paid back in full over 10 years ago. The party later clarified that it had only shared the news as was reported.
On Monday, the X handle of the Kerala Congress shared a post by a news outlet and 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."
Hitting back on Tuesday, Ms Zinta asserted that she operates her social media accounts herself and accused the Congress of spreading "fake news".
"No I operate my social media accounts my self 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 (sic)," she posted.
Clarifying that a loan was taken, but paid back, she added, "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."
The Kerala Congress' post also now has a community note that says "Preity Zinta has clarified from her Twitter handle that it is fake", with a link to the actor's statement.
An hour after her first post, Ms Zinta took to X again to hit out at journalist Sucheta Dalal, one of the founders of Moneylife, which was among the first to report the alleged loan write-off. The actor also said she was done "being a bigger person".
"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," she wrote.
"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," she added.
Responding to her post, Kerala Congress said Ms Zinta's name was mentioned in a news reports on this matter. It also shared an excerpt of the report and said, "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."
RBI Action
On February 13, the Reserve Bank of India had imposed severe restrictions on the New India Cooperative Bank citing irregularities, prohibiting it from issuing new loans of renewing existing ones. It was also barred from accepting new investments or deposits and selling its assets.
The RBI also superseded the Board of Directors of New India Cooperative Bank for 12 months and appointed a former chief general manager of the State Bank of India (SBI) as administrator for the period.
On Monday, the central bank said customers would be allowed to withdraw up to Rs 25,000 from their deposit accounts starting February 27.
"The Reserve Bank, after reviewing the bank's liquidity position in consultation with the Administrator, has decided to allow a deposit withdrawal of up to Rs 25,000 per depositor, with effect from February 27, 2025. With above relaxation more than 50 per cent of the total depositors will be able to withdraw their entire balances and the remaining depositors can draw up to Rs 25,000 from their deposit accounts," the RBI said in a statement.
"The depositors may use the branch as well as ATM channel of the bank for this withdrawal, however, aggregate amount that can be withdrawn will be Rs 25,000 per depositor or the balance available in their account whichever is lower," it said.
The bank has 28 branches, most of which are in the Mumbai metropolitan region.
