CHENNAI:While the conduct on elections on his hand-picked day will bring a sliver of relief to Radha Ravi and company, the judge directed them to reply to the allegation that several of the 3,000 members on the Nadigar Sangam’s rolls were ‘bogus’ and did not have valid addresses. The court has sought details on the addresses and registration details of these members within two weeks.
“Over the years, several artistes who are dead are still on the rolls, while people who are very active have been removed. They are not even told that they cannot vote unless their omission is made public. This is unethical and needs to stop,” said a source close to actor Poochi Murugan, who first brought a civil suit against the Sangam’s power couple in 2011.
Initially, the Sangam was composed of film and stage actors’ associations across the State — where there were around 180 stage theatre groups in the early 70’s with hundreds of members.
Over the years, these groups have dwindled even as the number of cinema actors has swelled. The land that the Sangam’s old building was set on was built after MGR and Sivaji staged shows to bring in funds. Later on, when the Sangam was plunged in debt, Vijayakant had ordered all cine stars to stage a series of star shows from which funds were brought in to stabilise their accounts.
Years later, the spotlight has settled squarely on the Sangam’s golden egg - their property holding.
Residents of Habibullah Road had petitioned against the multiplex project and got it restrained as the CMDA would not give permission for a commercial establishment like a mall or theatre on a 50 feet road.
Speaking to the media, Vishal said that he was willing to back out of the election race if they agreed to build a wedding hall on the Nadigar Sangam property. “The only reason we had to approach the court is because we asked the Sangam’s office bearers to publish the list twice but we received no reply. That is the only reason why we had to take this matter to the High Court,” he said.
Vishal is backed by senior actors like Nasser and Poochi Murugan — who stalled the multiplex plan — and is attempting to use this building issue as the cornerstone of his campaign against Sarath Kumar.
But the other camp is supremely confident. Having served as an office bearer of the Sangam in some capacity or the other for nearly 40 years, Radha Ravi is canvassing extensively among actors and stage hands in Madurai, Tirunelveli and other districts.
