Poonam Dhillon breaks silence as 8 CINTAA members resign: ‘Vulgar, offensive allegations’

‘Nullifying collective responsibility’: Why 8 executive members quit CINTAA

“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,” a part of their joint resignation letter reportedly said.

Also Read | Govinda accepts wife Sunita Ahuja’s cheating claims: ‘Sad if you exit a mithai shop hungry’

Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Hetal Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma, and Deepak Parashar are the elected members who called it quits. They alleged that the leadership has frequently made decisions without consulting the executive committee and obtaining its approval.

Confirming the latest developments, CINTAA general secretary Upasana Singh told ANI that a total of 11 members have submitted their resignations, among whom eight were part of the executive committee. “They have also submitted their complaints, stating that Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon are misusing their positions,” she noted. However, CINTAA’s legal counsel confirmed that the organisation’s executive committee has not been dissolved thus far.

Don’t Miss | Gurmeet Choudhary survived on Rs 36 a day, now owns Rs 16 cr home and dream farmhouse

Poonam Dhillon hits back

Responding to those making “vulgar and offensive” allegations against her, Poonam Dhillon told ANI, “What happened was that things were not going their way. They were trying to exercise control over the CINTAA members through the CAWT (Cine Artistes’ Welfare Trust), and when that did not happen, they started making strange and serious allegations against us.”

“You wouldn’t believe how vulgar the allegations were. They were so offensive that, if we wanted to, we could have considered taking action for defamation against each and every person involved. Such allegations, hurtful statements, and offensive language were circulated widely,” she added.

ICYMI | ‘Culprit is someone you know’: Ajay Devgn replaces Anup Soni in Crime Patrol, watch teaser

Poonam also opened up about the toll the internal conflict had taken on her, revealing that she had considered stepping down from the CINTAA executive committee several times. The actor said, “They had two or three, I would say, paid mouthpieces who would speak in this manner. One or two of them were also members of CINTAA, and they made some very inappropriate and hurtful statements. But we still chose to remain silent. But I would only say one thing. My self-respect and integrity are very important. Whatever we have earned over the years, we have not earned it in one or two years. We have built our reputation and self-respect over decades, through our conduct, our dignity, our presence, and the way we have treated and interacted with people.”

“We have been in this industry for 42 years… some for 45 years, others have been a part of it for 48 years. Do you really think that after all these years, we would be capable of such betrayal? I want to share something very personal with you. Over the last year or year and a half, there were many times when I felt like quitting the CINTAA executive committee and walking away. It’s because these people made our lives so difficult. There was opposition to every single thing… opposition to every single initiative,” Poonam concluded.