New Delhi:
President Pratibha Patil has okayed the suspension of Prasar Bharati CEO BS Lalli.
The suspension came after the Prime Minister's Office sent the President a copy of a report by the Central Vigilance Commission, which alleged corruption, financial and administrative mismanagement in the public broadcaster.
Lalli was also recently at the center of a controversy related to the Commonwealth Games. A Rs 246-crore broadcast rights deal was allegedly riddled with problems - the company that won the contract, SIS Live, had not met the required tax registration formalities; banking and other documents are being studied for discrepancies. SIS Live also sub-contracted its work to a Delhi company named Zoom Communications - Lalli is accused of allowing this without getting the required sanctions from the I&B Ministry.
Prasar Bharati, an autonomous corporation of the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, governs state-owned Doordarshan and All India Radio. According to the Prasar Bharati Act, any member of the corporation can be removed only after a Supreme Court inquiry sanctioned by the Indian President.