Kochi, July 4 (IANS) The crisis within the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) deepened on Saturday with a group of senior actresses launching a fresh attack on president Shwetha Menon, accusing her of encouraging communal polarisation, intimidating dissenting voices and plunging the organisation into turmoil.

The controversy also claimed its first major casualty, with actor-turned-Congress MLA Ramesh Pisharody stepping down as convener of the ad hoc committee.

Actresses Ansiba Hassan, Mala Parvathy, Usha Haseena and Maya Viswanath levelled a series of allegations against Shwetha Menon.

They claimed that attempts had been made within AMMA to portray Ansiba as communal and a jihadi after she questioned certain developments within the organisation.

Mala Parvathy alleged that there was a deliberate effort to isolate Ansiba by spreading communal narratives and creating divisions among members.

Mala Parvathy said she had personally been prevented from expressing her views during the organisation’s general body meeting and accused the leadership of suppressing dissent.

Referring to the recently released audio conversation between Shwetha Menon and Ramesh Pisharody, Mala Parvathy alleged that the recording had been made public with a specific agenda.

She further claimed that during an earlier conversation, Shwetha had accused Ansiba of attempting religious conversions, a claim she said she immediately challenged.

According to Mala Parvathy, she was later warned that continuing to raise the issue could result in her being sidelined from the film industry.

Usha Haseena also mounted a strong attack on Shwetha Menon, accusing her of being driven by a desire to retain power and holding her responsible for pushing AMMA into its present crisis.

She described the release of the private conversation with Pisharody as a criminal act and warned that if Shwetha continued in the leadership, she and several others would have no place in the organisation.

Ansiba Hassan alleged that the executive committee led by Shwetha Menon had collapsed amid allegations of financial irregularities and claimed that members who questioned the functioning of the organisation were instead subjected to personal attacks.

Meanwhile, the controversy took a dramatic turn with Ramesh Pisharody resigning as convener of the ad hoc committee.

Stating that he had no desire to drag AMMA into prolonged legal battles, Pisharody said the audio had not leaked but had been deliberately released, a fact that was evident from its clarity.

He described the episode as deeply hurtful and reiterated that he had never sought to cling to any position within the organisation.

Pisharody also maintained that the corruption allegations raised by Shwetha Menon remained allegations unless substantiated with evidence and said his efforts had been aimed solely at resolving the crisis within AMMA.

With the exchange of allegations intensifying and the leadership crisis showing no signs of abating, the actors’ body appears headed for an even deeper internal confrontation in the days ahead.

–IANS

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