Loan waiver reports: Kerala Congress and Preity Zinta in X spat
Mumbai, Feb 25 (PTI): 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 Co-operative Bank's board on February 15 amid reports of financial irregularities.
On Monday, Congress Kerala's X account posted a news article with a caption that Zinta gave her social media accounts to BJP to get a Rs 18 crore write off and depositors are on the streets now that the bank has collapsed.
A furious Zinta hit back with a counter post on Tuesday morning, slamming the political 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. I'm shocked that a political party or their representative is promoting fake news & indulging in vile gossip and 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 wrote.
The "Veer Zaara" star also blasted journalists for spreading fake news and calling for accountability.
The Congress Kerala posted a clarification after Zinta's statement, saying it was good to know that she was operating her social media accounts unlike other celebrities who have handed theirs to "the 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.
"We are standing with the depositors who lost their savings. 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," the post read.
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…
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 25, 2025
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 &… https://t.co/cdnEvqnkYx
— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) February 25, 2025
Good to know you're managing your own account, unlike other celebs who have handed theirs over to the notorious IT cell.
— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) February 25, 2025
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… https://t.co/4aouqLaWue
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'Last rites' of INDIA bloc: BJP on Cong-DMK fallout in Tamil Nadu
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress for extending support to Vijay's TVK in forming the government in Tamil Nadu and breaking away from its long term ally DMK, saying the party has a history of "betraying" its allies.
The saffron party also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, claiming the alliance is "falling apart like a pack of cards" and lacks any common ideology or vision.
The Tamil Nadu Congress has decided to support TVK leader Vijay in forming a secular government in the state, sources said.
The decision to support the TVK was taken at an urgent meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Tamil Nadu Congress late on Tuesday night.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed the INDIA alliance had effectively come to an end after the declaration of assembly election results on May 4.
"There is nobody whom the Congress has not deceived. Imagine what they will do to the Samajwadi Party if they have done this to the DMK," he wrote in a post on X.
Calling it the "last rites" of the INDIA bloc, Poonawalla, in a video post, said, "It has become a Bharat free of the DMK, TMC and the Left, and now Congress has dumped the DMK for the TVK."
The BJP spokesperson alleged that the opposition bloc was formed solely out of political compulsions and personal ambitions.
"The INDI alliance never had any mission or vision. It was only about ambition for position, corruption, commission and obsession against Modi ji that they came together. But now it is all falling apart like a pack of cards," he said.
Questioning the unity of the opposition parties, Poonawalla said the alliance was absent in several states during the election.
"Where was the INDI alliance in Bengal, in Kerala, in Gujarat, in Punjab, in Delhi, in Haryana, in Karnataka? There is no INDI alliance," he said.
The DMK on Wednesday described the Congress move to extend support to TVK as a "backstab" by its long-time national ally.
Speaking to PTI videos, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Anadurai said, "The Congress party has decided to ally with the TVK, pledging their support to the party. I think they have backstabbed... They have backstabbed the people of Tamil Nadu. They've backstabbed the mandate given by the people of Tamil Nadu."
He said that the decision came even before the electoral process had fully concluded.
"Even before the ink on the returning officer's signature on the victory certificate dried up, they've chosen to go ahead with an alliance," he said.
Vijay's TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly, falling short of the halfway mark. He needs the support of 10 MLAs to form a government with a simple majority. The results were declared only on Monday.
The Congress has won five seats, while the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) has bagged four seats. The CPI and CPI-M have two seats each. The outgoing ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has won 59 seats while the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has won 47 seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has won only one seat, and so have the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and the Amma Makkal Munnettra Kazagam (AMMK), while the VCK has won two seats.
The Congress had fought the assembly polls in a pre-poll alliance with the DMK, while the BJP had a tie-up with the AIADMK.
