Kochi: Actor Siddique has resigned from the position of General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA). Siddique’s resignation came on Sunday morning, following serious sexual allegations raised against him on Saturday. Siddique submitted his resignation via email to AMMA President Mohanlal. Siddique commented on the resignation, saying, “The resignation letter was handed over to the President officially. This is in the context of serious allegations against me. I have no further comments regarding the allegations.”
In the wake of the allegations, there have been indications of dissent within AMMA regarding Siddique. Some members of AMMA reportedly suggested that it would be appropriate for him to step down given the situation. This is believed to be the reason behind Siddique’s resignation from the position of General Secretary.
The allegations were brought forth by a young actress on Sunday, who revealed that she had endured harassment from the actor at a very young age. She stated that she was 21 years old at the time and that it was not easy to speak out about such incidents, even though such occurrences are known in the film industry. The actress also labeled Siddique as “the number one criminal in Malayalam cinema” and claimed that she was removed from the film industry after exposing the abuse. This is not the first time Siddique has faced allegations; the same actress had made similar allegations against him in 2019 as part of the #MeToo movement.
Siddique had been appointed as AMMA’s General Secretary just a month and a half ago, succeeding the previous officeholder,Idavela Babu. As of now, AMMA Vice President Jayan Cherthala has stated that no one has been appointed to Siddique’s position yet.
