Kochi, Jun 21 (PTI) AMMA president Shwetha Menon and the 17-member executive committee led by her resigned on Sunday following dramatic scenes and heated exchanges at the annual general body meeting of the actors’ organisation.
The development comes amid simmering differences within the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, over a range of issues that have surfaced in recent months.
The resignations came after a stormy general body meeting that lasted several hours and witnessed heated exchanges over the adoption of the annual report and the statement of accounts.
A section of members alleged a lack of clarity in the income and expenditure details contained in the annual report presented by General Secretary Kuku Parameswaran, triggering sharp exchanges.
As the dispute escalated, Menon announced that she was stepping down as president of the organisation.
She later told reporters that the entire executive committee, headed by her, had resigned, too.
“All the executive committee members have resigned. I have resigned my membership and left the organisation,” she said.
Menon said she had resigned not only as president but also from the primary membership of AMMA and was no longer associated with the organisation.
She alleged that the association’s treasurer was “unavailable” and that accounts relating to a particular period could not be produced.
“The treasurer of the organisation was unavailable. When an AMMA staff member was terminated and later filed a complaint, the issue was not addressed. Instead, the treasurer became unavailable, and therefore we could not produce the accounts for that period,” she alleged.
According to Menon, the accounts maintained by the present committee from September 1 onwards were in order, but several “unresolved issues” remained from the tenure of the previous committee.
“From September 1 onwards, all our accounts were in order. But there were several issues related to the earlier committee,” she said, adding that she was relieved to have severed ties with the organisation.
She alleged that efforts were underway to hand over the organisation once again to people against whom allegations had previously been raised.
“An effort is being made to return the organisation to the hands of people against whom allegations have been raised. That was the agenda,” she alleged, without elaborating.
She claimed that some members had been pressured into signing a no-confidence motion against the executive committee.
“Without informing us, there was an agenda to remove us. I have a personality of my own, and I will speak my mind. If we were puppets, we could not have run this organisation. But I am not ready to become a puppet,” she claimed.
After the meeting, veteran actor Mallika Sukumaran said the executive committee had committed certain mistakes, as well.
Though she did not elaborate, Sukumaran said the organisation should be led by people who understand the film industry, are willing to learn, and are capable of articulating issues effectively.
Sources said alleged irregularities in the association’s accounts emerged as a major issue during the meeting and ultimately led to the resignation of Menon and the executive committee.
They said an ad hoc committee comprising nine members had been constituted, with MLA and actor Ramesh Pisharody as convener and former minister-actor K B Ganesh Kumar and Suresh Krishna among its members.
The committee has been given a four-month term and will decide when the next election should be held, sources added.
The developments sparked both support for and criticism of the outgoing executive committee.
Actor Jagadish said nobody had launched a personal attack on Shwetha Menon during the meeting. However, he said members had pointed out that there were certain responsibilities she could have fulfilled as president but “failed to discharge.” Actor Bheeman Reghu claimed Menon’s manner of speaking and style of functioning had upset many people.
Actor Baburaj criticised the outgoing panel and said the very committee that had allegedly caused difficulties for women was now stepping down.
Targeting Menon, he added that there was no need to play the “women’s card” and that a president should be someone who listens to everyone’s concerns. Actor Anoop Chandran, however, said the issues stemmed from lapses caused by “inexperience and were not irreconcilable.” He said efforts should have been made to keep the committee intact.
The development marks a significant setback for the leadership elected in August last year, when, for the first time in AMMA’s history, women were chosen to head the organisation.
Menon and Kuku Parameswaran were elected president and general secretary, respectively, while Ansiba Hasan and Lakshmi Priya were elected joint secretary and vice-president, respectively.
Ansiba Hasan had recently resigned from her post, citing internal differences with certain members of the organisation.
Reacting to the developments, State Minister for Cultural Affairs and Cinema P C Vishnunadh said the matter was an “internal issue” of the organisation, and there was no reason for government intervention.
“AMMA is one among many organisations in Kerala. Even if some of its members are MLAs or politicians, when they function within that organisation, they are actors. Let them resolve the issues within the organisation themselves. There is no need for the government to intervene in such matters,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. PTI LGK SSK
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