India, Aug. 11 -- A bitter power tussle has erupted within the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), with 11 members resigning amid serious allegations. Eight elected Executive Committee members, along with three co-opted members, have stepped down, alleging that decision-making has increasingly become concentrated around president Poonam Dhillon, senior vice-president Padmini Kolhapure and a section of the committee. The dissenting members have sought fresh elections, citing a "loss of confidence" in the functioning. Dhillon, however, strongly rejects the charges: "Padmini and I are working hard to bring goodwill to CINTAA by using our resources and contacts. It was not for personal gain." She also hits back at criticism over alleged Rs.1 lakh spent on gifts for singers who performed without charging at the CAWT (Cine Artistes' Welfare Trust) fundraiser. "We raised Rs.1 crore through these performances, so how is it a problem if we spend Rs.1 lakh on gifts for them?" she says. Dhillon further alleges that some dissenting members were promised "high posts" if a new committee came in and others were pressured into resigning. "Puneet (Issar, one of the members who resigned) has barely attended two meetings in two years, but the day they wanted to dissolve the committee, they were beckoned just to vote us out! We still have the majority and the committee still stands," she maintains. Responding to allegations by Upasana Singh (right) of the EGM being illegal, Dhillon says, "We held an EGM with a member who had withdrawn her resignation and inducted in seven new members on top of the elected list. The process was vetted by our legal team."...