Kamath on his way out as Govt gets Prasar Bharati Bill passed

The Government got the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Amendment Bill 2008, passed by the Lok Sabha, after it drew heavy flak for bringing in an ordinance to amend the Prasar Bharati Act, days before the current Parliament session was to commence.
The move was seen as an attempt to ease out current Prasar Bharati Chairman M V Kamath.
The Bill, introduced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, proposes to fix the upper age limit for the board chairman at 70 years and to cut the tenure of the office from six years to three. Appointed during the NDA regime, Kamath is an octagenarian and has been in office since 2003.
In contrast, the Bill seeks to raise the upper age limit of the executive members on the Board from 62 years to 65 even while bringing down their tenure from six years to five.
Significantly, the Bill also proposes that once the Act comes into effect, the incumbent in the Chairman’s office will cease to hold office if his appointment is inconsistent with the provisions of the Act and will “not be entitled to any compensation because of his ceasing to hold such office”.
Explaining the reason for fixing the maximum age for Chairman and cutting down his tenure by half, the statement of objects and reasons listed in the Bill says that this would ensure “appointment of comparatively younger talent and experience” and “help to bring diversity of experience at the top level for the benefit of the organisation”.
But several MPs questioned the grounds for the Bill during a discussion on the statutory resolution moved by Samajwadi Party MP Mohan Singh against the ordinance. “I do not see the need for an ordinance to increase or decrease the ages of chairman and executive members,” Singh said, kicking off the debate.
Questioning the “wisdom of bringing in so many ordinances”, Shiv Sena MP Suresh Prabhu asked the Government to explain the urgency that led them to move it. “It looks as if the ordinance was issued to get rid of one person,” Prabhu said.
BJP MP Rasa Singh Rawat saw a “mala fide intention” in the move, and said it was similar to the one relating to the removal of AIIMS Director Dr P Venugopal. “The Government has issued an ordinance for such a small matter?” he said.
For once, the CPI(M) and BJP spoke in the same voice, with CPI(M) MP Varkala Radhakrishnan accusing the UPA Government of making the House a rubber stamp of the executive”.
Dasmunsi, however, reiterated that the Government move was not about “one man”. “In August 2008, we have the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, for which the Prasar Bharati has been chosen as the dedicated host broadcaster. With all regards to the current incumbents, we felt that you cannot get a professional and competent CEO if you seal his age limit at 62 years,” the minister said, trying to explain the Bill.
Dasmunsi added that after studying examples the world over, he had concluded that competent CEOs were in the age group of 65 years
Raghvendra Rao Posted online: screenindia.com, Friday , March 28, 2008 at 1159 hrs