BJP LEADER WRITES TO PM

BJP leader writes to PM over state of affairs in Prasar Bharti

Senior BJP leader Prabhat Jha has written to prime minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention to improve the state of affairs in public broadcaster Prasar Bharati which has been mired in internal squabbles between its board members and the CEO.



In a letter written on November 3, Prabhat Jha has urged the PM to "set up a Parliamentary committee to monitor and regulate the quality of Prasar Bharati so that its performance may be improved and it again becomes popular in every household".

He requested Singh to "consider the matter urgently and take required steps in instituting a Parliamentary committee for the purpose".

Jha said the reason Doordarshan is failing to compete with other channels is "because a large number of vacancies (around 17,400) are waiting to be filled and Prasar Bharati, an autonomous body, cannot make appointments under the pretext of some government 'ban' on appointments".

Terming it as "ridiculous", he said "as per Prasar Bharati Act, the public broadcaster is entitled to make appointments but what is stopping it remains puzzling".

Hoping that Singh will intervene in the matter, Jha said, "I request you to take personal interest and see that a Parliamentary committee is in place to improve the quality of Doordarshan to make it competitive. I also hope that you will take immediate steps in filling 17,400 vacancies in Prasar Bharati. (From friends of prasarbharathi.org)"