Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Aug 10: Eight elected members of the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) Executive Committee have resigned from their posts and the committee with immediate effect, citing a loss of confidence in the association's current functioning and calling for fresh elections.
The resignations were submitted to CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh. The eight members are Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Heta Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar.
In a joint letter, the members alleged repeated instances of the association moving away from collective decision-making, consultation and constitutional governance. They claimed that decision-making had increasingly come into the hands of CINTAA President Poonam Dhillon and Senior Vice President Padmini Kolhapure, along with some other Executive Committee members.
One of the key concerns raised in the letter was the manner in which official communication and representation on behalf of CINTAA were allegedly being handled.
The members alleged that Dhillon had taken several decisions independently, including communicating with government officials using her personal identification and deciding on communications with industry bodies through the association's official ID.
They also questioned the alleged involvement of lawyers in meetings with government officials. According to the members, Dhillon and Kolhapure had visited government offices accompanied by privately engaged lawyers who were introduced as CINTAA lawyers, despite allegedly having no authorisation or sanction from the Executive Committee.
Confirming the resignations, Singh said 11 members in total had stepped down, including eight elected members of the Executive Committee.
"Out of our 11 members, eight elected members have resigned and submitted their resignations to me. They have also submitted their complaints, stating that Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon are misusing their positions," Singh said.
Singh also questioned the alleged use of personal email accounts for official CINTAA correspondence.
She said communications on behalf of an association should ordinarily be routed through its official email system to ensure transparency and allow the organisation to maintain a record of its correspondence that can be accessed by the association.
The resignations and allegations have triggered calls for fresh elections to the association's Executive Committee.