AMMA controversy: Controversy continues in Malayalam Actors Association ‘Amma’. After the resignation of 2 more members, President Shweta Menon has declared her committee legitimate. He said that as per the rules, only his committee will work till the new elections and the ad-hoc committee is illegal.
Kochi: The ongoing dispute in the Malayalam film industry’s Actors Association ‘Amma’ (AMMA) is not stopping. Now actors Jayan Cheratala and Kailash have also resigned from the organization. Both of them submitted their resignations by sending emails to the organization. Jayan Cheratala clearly said that he had announced his resignation from the committee in the annual general meeting itself in front of more than 500 members and now he does not want to continue in the post further. Both of them were part of the same governing body which had announced their resignation.
The move came after ad-hoc committee members Ramesh Pishardi and Ganesh Kumar alleged that several people, including Shweta Menon, had not yet resigned. After these allegations, President Shweta Menon also opened the front. He responded by writing a long post on social media. Shweta says that according to the by-laws of ‘Amma’, the committee that has resigned has to look after the work till the next elections. Therefore, the ad-hoc committee formed has no legal validity. He also alleged that some ‘people with vested interests’ were trying to hijack the organisation.
Shweta Menon’s full post
“I was silent for ‘Amma’ for so many days. I thought that my silence would end the controversy related to the organization. But my name is being continuously targeted and attempts are being made to tarnish my image. Now I will not back down without proving my innocence. Today she said that I have cheated the people and orphaned ‘Amma’. No. I have not cheated anyone, nor have I orphaned ‘Amma’. Annual General Meeting held on June 21 At the (AGM), some people had come with a pre-prepared agenda. Frankly, these were 10-15 people, which contained many baseless allegations against the Executive Committee. That proposal was submitted to me under Article 12 (e) of the ‘AMMA’. It did not pass. The required two-thirds majority of votes in favor of the motion was not obtained that day. Therefore, the motion has no legal basis.
Today he said that the ad-hoc committee is the decision of the general body. I want to ask him that where is there any provision like ‘Ad-hoc Committee’ in the by-laws of ‘Amma’? How was a committee formed which does not exist in the by-laws? The by-law clearly states that if a committee officially resigns, the old elected committee will continue to function until a new committee is elected. When Lal Sir (Mohanlal)’s committee resigned, the same rule was adopted. Then why is this injustice happening to our committee? Why are different rules being made for us because of some vested interests?
According to the by-laws of ‘Amma’, there can be only one committee, and that is our committee. As per the decision of the General Body, this committee will function till the next election for the new committee. Therefore, those who are calling themselves an ad-hoc committee have no legal validity. They are misleading the members of ‘Amma’. ‘Amma’ is a charity organization. This helps many people. Since the AGM till date, there has been no interruption in any of ‘Amma’s’ work. We have delivered ‘Kainittam’ (a kind of financial assistance) given on 1st July to the members on time, Sanjeevani, medical insurance… we are doing all this properly. By taking advantage of my silence and misleading the members of ‘Amma’, some accused and people with vested interests are trying to hijack ‘Amma’. That’s why I won’t let anyone hijack ‘Amma’.
your own,
Shweta Menon,
President, ‘Amma’.”