Poonam Dhillon hits back at CINTAA members after mass resignations: "I’m shocked by their allegations"
The Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) is facing an internal dispute after eight elected members of its Executive Committee resigned from their respective offices and the Executive Committee with immediate effect. The members cited a loss of confidence in the present manner of functioning and called for fresh elections. They also alleged that the association’s functioning had increasingly become concentrated around CINTAA President Poonam Dhillon, Senior Vice President Padmini Kolhapure and a section of other Executive Committee members.
Responding to Hindustan Times, Poonam Dhillon has defended her and Padmini’s work for the organisation. Speaking to us, Poonam says, “Padmini and I are working hard to bring goodwill to CINTAA by using our resources and contacts; it is not for personal gain. No one else was taking initiatives to do anything for members of the organisation, so I’m shocked by their allegations.”
Poonam also addressed the controversy surrounding CAWT (Cine Artistes’ Welfare Trust), which was formed by senior actors including late Dilip Kumar, Amrish Puri and Amjad Khan. She claimed that the trust had not fulfilled its responsibility of providing medical facilities to members and said that no one from the current committee had raised funds for CAWT in the past few decades.
She pointed to a recent fundraising event, where artistes including Kavita Krishnamurthy, Madhushree and Nitin Mukesh performed without charging CINTAA. Gifts were presented to the artistes following their performances. “We raised 1 crore through these performances, so how is it a problem if we spend 1 lakh on gifts for them?” Poonam questions.
The actor further alleged that some of the members who resigned had been promised positions if a new committee came to power. Referring to Puneet Issar, she says, “Puneet (Issar) has barely attended two meetings in two years, but the day they wanted to dissolve the committee, they were beckoned just to vote us out.” She also alleged that certain members were pressured into resigning. “We still have the majority and the committee still stands," says Poonam.
Addressing General Secretary Upasana Singh’s claim that the EGM called by Poonam and her team was illegal, the actor explained her position on the process. “The resignation of former members was received by the General Secretary and not accepted by EC (Executive Committee). Meanwhile we held an EGM with a member who had withdrawn her resignation and inducted in seven new members on top of the elected list. Only after that resignations were accepted. So the EC stands. This process was vetted by our legal team.”
Poonam also said that she and Padmini have been paying some CINTAA expenses from their own pockets. She added that they have been conducting regular checks on television sets and educating members about labour codes. According to Poonam, several more initiatives are planned for the organisation as the dispute over its functioning continues.
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