With Nadigar Sangam elections set to be held on Sunday, actor Sarath Kumar presented a solid defence of his tenure as its chief, providing a point by point rebuttal for allegations made by the faction led by actor Vishal, at a press conference here in Chennai on Wednesday.
The incumbent president also presented a 23-point manifesto, which included a number of welfare schemes for members of the Nadigar Sangam. Mr. Sarath Kumar sought to clarify allegations of corruption with original documents related to the agreement in dispute and a documentary that illustrated the timeline of events leading up to the present controversy using clips from many general body meetings, which had the participation of actors Nasser, Vishal and others, in the past.
“The agreement that has been brought into question has been ratified by the executive body. The decision to get into an agreement was announced at the general body meeting and ratified subsequently. Despite me being so accessible, none of these actors, who went to the media accusing me, raised any questions back then,” said Mr.Sarath Kumar. The documentary featured clips of Mr.Vishal openly stating that the questions that he and others raised regarding the property were answered.
Mr.Sarath Kumar further observed that the faction, which is against him, has been raising a hue and cry without any understanding of the deal or the facts related to it. “Vishal said that we have been running the association without even filing Income Tax returns without really knowing that Charitable Trusts are exempted from filing if it’s not making any profit. Secondly, he has said that the building was demolished without proper approval. But he is wrong. We had obtained permission from the Corporation,” he pointed out as he showed the relevant documents.
He further stated that ‘not an inch of Nadigar Sangam property has been sold’ contrary to what is being said about it. “It has only been leased for 29 years and 11 months. After this period, the Sangam will be richer by Rs.130 crore without spending any money for the maintenance of the building. The Sangam will also get a fully furnished 2500-square-foot office space along with Rs.8 crore interest on the deposit that SPI Cinemas are going to pay us,” he said.
Commenting on the accusations of nepotism, specifically about shielding his brother-in-law Radha Ravi after he was caught on camera abusing fellow actors, Mr.Sarath Kumar said: “This accusation hurt me. I have known Radha Ravi since I was in my college. He became my brother-in-law only recently. He was my friend even before that. The Nadigar Sangam served show cause notices to both Radha Ravi and K.N. Kaalai. But they [Vishal and others] wanted him to go to Tiruchi and apologise. They didn’t want to diffuse the tension, they wanted to aggravate it.”
Mr. Sarath Kumar criticised the actors, who had engineered a rebellion against the current office-bearers, of not even passing through Habibullah Road, where the Nadigar Sangam is located. “ Karthi says that he was surprised to know that the building was razed when he took a look at it. Which means that he didn’t know what was happening at the Nadigar Sangam,” he said. When asked if he was confident about winning the election, Mr. Sarath Kumar said that he is no doubt that he would win it.
Sarath's promise
Members, who have been in the Nadigar Sangam for more than 20 years, will get a 1000-sqft house built by Nadigar Sangam.
Nadigar Sangam will petition the government to increase pension from Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2500.
Nadigar Sangam will increase the monthly stipend for its members from Rs. 500 to Rs. 2000.
Accident insurance for everyone upto 5 lakhs.
Workshops will be conducted to train the next generation theatre artistes.
>Read: All you need to know about the Nadigar Sangam battle
