Actor Idavela Babu who stepped down as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) criticised his colleagues for staying silent when he was subjected to cyber attack. During his farewell speech at AMMA's annual body meet in Kochi on Sunday, the actor claimed he had been made a scapegoat for several issues that happened within the organisation. “But none of you spoke up for me. There is a limit to how much I can speak for myself while holding this position,” he said. He also urged them to show more support to the new office-bearers who took their oaths at the meeting, which concluded at 6pm. Siddique has replaced Idavela Babu as the new AMMA general secretary.
Idavela Babu, meanwhile, also addressed rumours suggesting he was a'paid secretary.' “Some people accuse me of being a 'paid secretary.' In fact, it was Jagathy Sreekumar who first suggested that I be paid a salary for my duty in AMMA. Though that recommendation was not considered for a long time, nine years ago, I started receiving payment for my work. Then, it was Rs 30,000. Later, the amount was increased to Rs 50,000. From that, I paid Rs 20,000 to my driver and Rs 20,000 for my accommodation,” he said.
Idavela Babu, who held the post of general secretary of AMMA, for the past 25 years, pointed out the efforts he made in developing the association. He added that film shoots were never delayed under his watch. He also revealed that a sum of Rs 6.5 crore has been set aside for the functioning of AMMA in the future.
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