CINTAA faces internal crisis as 8 elected members resign, demand fresh elections and allege lack of transparency
CINTAA Plunges into Crisis as Eight Elected Members Resign, Alleging Lack of Transparency and Unilateral Decisions
Mumbai, India – The Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) is currently grappling with a significant internal crisis after eight elected Executive Committee members dramatically tendered their resignations. Citing a profound loss of confidence in the association’s operational integrity and accusing leadership of unilateral decision-making, the dissenting members have called for immediate fresh elections.
CINTAA General Secretary, Upasana Singh, confirmed the exodus, stating that a total of eleven members have resigned, with eight being elected Executive Committee members. In stark contrast, the association’s legal counsel maintains that the Executive Committee remains intact, asserting that the constitutional threshold for its dissolution has not been met.
Eight Elected Members Step Down from CINTAA
The eight elected members who have stepped down are identified as Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Hetal Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma, and Deepak Parashar. In their joint resignation letter, the group articulated that their decision stemmed from “repeated departures from the principles of collective decision-making, consultation and constitutional governance within the association.”
The letter explicitly accused CINTAA President Poonam Dhillon and Senior Vice President Padmini Kolhapure, alongside a faction of other Executive Committee members, of concentrating power and decision-making. A particularly damning excerpt from the letter reads: “The President, Poonam Dhillon, has repeatedly taken unilateral decisions; issued official communications through her ID to government officials, and unilaterally decided communications to industry bodies through the official CINTAA ID, and represented the Association in public and with other government, quasi-judicial and industry bodies without the knowledge, consultation, and/ or approval of the Executive Committee, thereby nullifying the principle of collective responsibility.”
Further allegations included claims that Dhillon and Kolhapure visited government offices accompanied by privately engaged lawyers, whom they allegedly introduced as CINTAA lawyers without proper authority or sanction from the Executive Committee.
General Secretary Confirms 11 Resignations, Alleges Misuse of Positions
Speaking to ANI, CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh corroborated the total number of resignations. “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 stated.
Singh also voiced concerns regarding the use of personal email accounts for official correspondence, emphasizing that official communications should ideally be routed through the association’s official email system to uphold transparency. “When a mail has to be sent to any organisation, we cannot send it through our personal mail ID if we want to send it officially. This is the same everywhere. Here, Poonam ji sends her personal mail ID to the organisations and asks them to send it to her. She gains no benefit from it but there is no transparency,” Singh explained, highlighting the perceived lack of accountability.
CINTAA Clarifies EC Has Not Been Dissolved
In response to the escalating turmoil, Advocate Suvigya Vidyarthi, representing CINTAA, issued a clarifying statement. “The version which has been circulating that the EC of CINTAA is dissolved is totally wrong, misconceived and lacks any judicial sanctity. As per the Constitution of CINTAA, the EC shall dissolve only when more than 50% of the elected members of the EC resign, which is not the case at hand,” Vidyarthi asserted. He added, “Also, as per the Constitution, new members have been inducted in their place who were next in line by the voting count.”
This internal upheaval marks one of the most significant disputes within CINTAA in recent memory. The resigning members are adamantly pushing for fresh elections, framing their demand as a crucial step towards re-establishing transparent and constitutionally compliant governance within the venerable artistes’ association.
