The Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) is facing a major internal crisis after eight elected Executive Committee members resigned with immediate effect, citing a loss of confidence in the association’s functioning and alleging unilateral decision-making. The resigning members have sought fresh elections, while CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh confirmed that 11 members in total have resigned. Meanwhile, the association’s legal representative has clarified that the Executive Committee has not been dissolved, stating that the constitutional threshold for dissolution has not been met.
Eight elected members step down from CINTAA
According to ANI, CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh named the eight resigning members 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 members said their decision came after repeated departures from the principles of collective decision-making, consultation and constitutional governance within the association.The letter alleged that the association’s functioning had increasingly become concentrated around CINTAA President Poonam Dhillon and Senior Vice President Padmini Kolhapure, along with a section of other Executive Committee members. Part of the letter read, “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.“The resigning members further alleged that Dhillon and Kolhapure visited government offices accompanied by privately engaged lawyers, who were allegedly introduced as CINTAA lawyers without the authority or sanction of the Executive Committee.
General secretary confirms 11 resignations
Speaking to ANI, CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh confirmed that a total of 11 members had resigned, eight of whom were elected Executive Committee members. She said, “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 also raised concerns over the use of personal email accounts for official correspondence, explaining that official communication should ideally go through the association’s official email system to maintain transparency. She said, “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.”
CINTAA clarifies EC has not been dissolved
Responding to the developments, Advocate Suvigya Vidyarthi, representing CINTAA, clarified that the Executive Committee has not been dissolved. In a statement, Vidyarthi said, “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. Also, as per the Constitution, new members have been inducted in their place who were next in line by the voting count.”The developments mark one of the most significant internal disputes within CINTAA in recent years, with the resigning members demanding fresh elections to restore what they call transparent and constitutional governance.
