CINTAA president Poonam Dhillon has been admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital after being diagnosed with dengue. The veteran actor has reportedly been battling the illness for around a week and is now recovering. Her hospitalisation comes days after a major internal dispute at the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), which saw eight executive committee members resign from their posts and demand fresh elections.Journalist Vickey Lalwani shared an update about Dhillon’s health on Instagram. He said the actor had been in hospital for several days and told him she was recovering when he messaged her.He wrote, “Poonam Dhillon has been admitted to Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. The senior actress has been diagnosed with dengue and has been in the hospital for quite some days now. This journalist texted her this morning and she said she’s recovering. Praying for her full recovery and hoping that she’s back home soon.”CINTAA controversyPoonam Dhillon’s health update comes amid a controversy within CINTAA, days after eight executive committee members resigned, citing a loss of confidence in the organisation’s leadership and demanding fresh elections.The eight elected members — Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Hetal Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar — alleged that CINTAA’s functioning had increasingly become centred around Dhillon, senior vice president Padmini Kolhapure and a few others. They also accused the leadership of taking decisions without consulting the executive committee.In their joint resignation letter, the members alleged that Dhillon had “repeatedly taken unilateral decisions” and represented the association without the “knowledge, consultation, and/ or approval of the Executive Committee, thereby nullifying the principle of collective responsibility.”CINTAA general secretary Upasana Singh said 11 members had submitted their resignations, including the eight executive committee members.Story continues below this ad“They have also submitted their complaints, stating that Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon are misusing their positions,” she said.CINTAA’s legal counsel, however, clarified that the executive committee had not been dissolved.ALSO READ: KBC 18: SSC aspirant from Dharavi wins enough to buy a home, to attempt Rs 1 cr questionPoonam Dhillon calls allegations ‘vulgar’ and ‘offensive’Dhillon rejected the allegations against her and Kolhapure, saying the dispute began after some members felt that “things were not going their way.”Story continues below this ad“What happened was that things were not going their way. They were trying to exercise control over the CINTAA members through the CAWT (Cine Artistes’ Welfare Trust), and when that did not happen, they started making strange and serious allegations against us,” she told ANI.Calling the allegations deeply offensive, she said, “You wouldn’t believe how vulgar the allegations were. They were so offensive that, if we wanted to, we could have considered taking action for defamation against each and every person involved. Such allegations, hurtful statements, and offensive language were circulated widely.”Dhillon also claimed that two or three people were acting as “paid mouthpieces” and making inappropriate remarks against her and Kolhapure. Despite this, she said they chose not to engage in a public confrontation.“They had two or three, I would say, paid mouthpieces who would speak in this manner. One or two of them were also members of CINTAA, and they made some very inappropriate and hurtful statements. But we still chose to remain silent. But I would only say one thing. My self-respect and integrity are very important.”Story continues below this adPoonam Dhillon says she considered quitting CINTAADhillon revealed that the dispute had taken a personal toll and that she had considered leaving CINTAA several times over the past year or year and a half. She said there was repeated opposition to the initiatives undertaken by her and others in the organisation.“We have been in this industry for 42 years… some for 45 years, others have been a part of it for 48 years. Do you really think that after all these years, we would be capable of such betrayal? I want to share something very personal with you. Over the last year or year and a half, there were many times when I felt like quitting the CINTAA executive committee and walking away. It’s because these people made our lives so difficult. There was opposition to every single thing… opposition to every single initiative,” Poonam concluded.Dhillon has maintained that she and Kolhapure became more visible within CINTAA because they were actively involved in its work. She said they had also used their personal and professional contacts to bring about positive changes and undertake initiatives for the organisation, rather than seeking individual recognition.