Since 1990, Dr. A. Sakthivel has been the founder-cum-president of TEA, and it was in 2010 that for the first time he faced competition from former treasurer M. Velusamy, whom he defeated in a keenly fought election held prior to the Annual General Meeting of the association. Of the 497 votes polled, A. Sakthivel obtained 334 votes and Velusamy got 162 votes. With the induction of new members recently, TEA now has 897 life members. The membership issue was taken to the notice of Registrar of Societies alleging violations in accordance with the by-law. The defendants got an interim stay from the Madras High Court against operation of the notice sent by the Registrar and the dispute is pending with the court.
Fight for change for the Cluster: Raja M. Shanmugam
“The Association has become monotonous and defunct in ideas and leadership, there are many instances of inactiveness and one of them is that it played no active role even during the critical period of Tirupur crises, we want to bring change for the better,” says Raja M. Shanmugam, MD of Warsaw International (Alpine group) and Chairman of NIFT TEA college of Knitwear Fashion. Full of confidence and busy with the coming election of Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) he asks, “What is the logic of 198 new life members being inducted in a hurry. This is just a vote bank for the opponent as they are losing for the first time in the history of the association. Out of these new members more than 30 members are not exporters and they don’t even have the necessary code clearances and certifications for exports.”
A group led by Shanmugam is fighting for all 27 posts of the association in the election which is going to take place on August 31. Meanwhile, he has also supported a petition made by M. Velusamy, founder member and former treasurer of TEA, to the Registrar of Societies asking him to appoint more than one returning officer during the forthcoming elections to select office-bearers of Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) for 2013-16 elections in the wake of certain accusations that have cropped up. “As election is going to be for real for the first time, we demand for more returning officers so that the whole procedure can take place smoothly and fairly,” he says.
Bad forces want to spoil the association: A. Sakthivel
“There are some bad forces who want to spoil the association and it is their single point agenda. They don’t want the welfare of TEA. People love our association and all this conspiracy is hurting, as our efforts are appreciated at the world level. If someone wants to fight the election, they should come in a democratic way. No one should spoil the name and credibility of TEA at any cost,” says Dr. A. Sakthivel, who has been leading TEA since its inception. He is very proud of what the association has done for Tirupur apparel and textile exporters and says, “We worked hard and got support from both the Central and State Governments during this critical time and today Tirupur is again on the track.”
On the issue of new members and their membership criteria he says, “Entire allegations are false; induction of new members is a routine exercise. Everyone wants to join the TEA so why should we deny membership.” Dr. Sakthivel agrees that this situation is demolishing the image of TEA and he is feeling bad. “These bad forces are being helped by some mill owners. We invited them to work with us and take experience to run a respected and big association, but as they don’t want true welfare, they don’t come to us. For fair and transparent elections a retired judge of High Court has been appointed as an election observer, so elections will be quite fair.
On being President from the day one for the last 23 years, Dr. Sakthivel says, “It is not a local level or small association which has to arrange just some health camps. We are organizing elections after every three years and we have never denied to everyone the right to contest but it should be in a democratic way not with the wrong intentions.”
Is change of guard an important issue?
Change of Guard should not be only because the existing President is at the helm for last 23 years and should be replaced. The elections should be fought on issues concerning the industry and what the new leadership will do and how differently. Such an important post should not be just to promote self, but to align the industry on a national agenda for growth…
Bharat Tex Special Report 2026 
