Shwetha Menon has broken her silence following her resignation as president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA), saying her decision to step down was driven by “self-respect”.

Menon’s tenure came to an abrupt end on June 21 after AMMA’s entire executive committee resigned en masse.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Menon alleged that vested interests prevented her committee from investigating alleged irregularities by previous office-bearers.

“I thank everyone who has stood by me. But I feel it is important that I put my words before the public myself. The reason why I resigned is because I refused to be a puppet to anyone,” Menon wrote.

“Even before the AMMA elections, people like Crime Nandakumar and Martin Menachery were put in front of me to spread misinformation and make fabricated allegations against me. Despite all that, I won the election with the support of the majority of AMMA members. I can assure them that I did everything to the best of my ability,” she added.

“Unfortunately, certain vested interests made sure that we never got the opportunity to investigate the wrongdoings of certain previous committee members,” she wrote.

Menon also called for a review of the organisation’s financial records: “The accounts of the past two terms, including ours, should be thoroughly reviewed. A forensic audit should be commissioned to ensure complete transparency and accountability.”

Dismissing speculation surrounding her political affiliations, Menon said she was not aligned with either the BJP or the Left and maintained that her position was independent.

“That decision was not out of weakness. It was out of self-respect. To be continued…Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost,” she added.

The current AMMA leadership was elected in August last year, marking the first time women were chosen to head the organisation.

Menon and Kuku Parameswaran were elected president and general secretary, respectively, while Ansiba Hasan and Lakshmi Priya were elected joint secretary and vice-president.

Ansiba Hasan had recently resigned from her position, citing internal differences with certain members of the organisation.