New Delhi:
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has set in motion the process to suspend Prasar Bharati CEO B S Lalli in the wake of allegations against him by writing to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
A letter recommending the suspension of Lalli has been sent to the PMO, official sources said on Sunday.
The PMO has to send the letter to President Pratibha Patil for her assent. Under the Prasar Bharati Act, only the President can order the removal or suspension of the CEO of the state-owned broadcaster.
Lalli, a 1971-batch IAS officer, is in the eye of a storm over allegations of irregularities in Prasar Bharti which included the controversial decision to give the contract for broadcast of recently concluded Commonwealth Games to a UK-based firm SIS Live.
The Ministry's move came a week after President Patil gave her assent to a Supreme Court inquiry into the alleged irregularities in Prasar Bharati.
Lalli, who assumed the CEO's office in December 2006, was indicted by the Central Vigilance Commission which accused him of breach of Parliamentary privilege, giving undue favours to some broadcast companies and financial mismanagement.