07-19-2006, 02:18 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>UPA Govt gifts Mallika Sarabhai Rs 10 crore </b>
Pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
Dancer-socialite turns filmmaker at taxpayers' expense for Gujarat-bashing documentaries ---- Obsession with Narendra Modi's Gujarat has made the UPA Government persuade Doordarshan to dole out Rs 10 crore for a series of documentaries highlighting the condition of women in Gujarat. The decision is bound to enrage the Gujarat Chief Minister because the person chosen to carry out the assignment is his bitter critic - Mallika Sarabhai, more famous for her dance performances and lesser known for her skills behind the TV camera. Â
Mallika Sarabhai
<b>Sources said the Planning Commission had sent the outline of a two-page pilot project to Prasar Bharati to commission a Gujarat-centric programme on the economic status of women in rural and slum areas.</b> The matter was discussed in the last meeting of the Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation where it met with stiff opposition from at least two members.
They objected to Sarabhai's choice, pointing out her bitter relation with the Gujarat Government. Sarabhai had run a bitter campaign against Modi after the Gujarat riots and the State Government had launched several prosecution proceedings against her. The Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation was told that assigning Sarabhai with a programme of such a nature would not be proper, objective criticism of the State Government might have to be an essential component.
"We were not opposed to the programme per se, but the way Mallika Sarabhai was handpicked for it in violation of all norms. We pointed that even if Mallika Sarabhai were to produce such a programme on Gujarat, it is bound to trigger a controversy and suffer from lack of credibility," a board member told The Pioneer.
The programme also came under critical scrutiny because of the amount involved. <b>A sum of Rs 10 crore for a commissioned programme for such State-centric documentaries may be unheard of</b>. More so, when Doordarshan is facing a financial crunch and there is greater thrust on programmes where the producer pays for the time slot.
"I find it difficult to believe that such large sums could be proposed for such programmes focussed on one State. I never heard of such a thing during my tenure as Minister for Information and Broadcasting," said Rajya Sabha member Ravishanker Prasad.
Sources said in the face of strong opposition, the Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation decided to broaden the scope of the series of documentaris by offering to include two more States on a suggestion made by a member, ML Mehta.
When contacted by The Pioneer, Prasar Bharti chairman MV Klamath refused to be drawn into the controversy. " I'll place my view in the board's meeting on the issue," he said.
However, Prasar Bharti's Chief Executive Officer Navin Kumar defended the decision and justified the allotment of Rs 10 crore for the serials. "This is going be a year-long series touching various issue. It will cover Gujarat and Haryna and another State, which we are trying to identify," he said. "Considering the vast number of episodes, the sum of Rs 10 crore is not extraordinary," he said.
Kumar also denied that members had opposed Mallika Sarabhai commissioned for the documentaries. "I am not aware of any such dissent," he told The Pioneer.
However, a member told The Pioneer that if the Prasar Bharati was to make the proceedings of the last Board meeting public, the truth will come out. "We had strongly opposed and will take up the issue again at next board meeting," a member said.
Planning Commission sends outline of two-page pilot project to Prasar Bharati
<b>Opponents say dancer's bias against State Government may creep into proposed docu-serial
We had strongly opposed it... will take it up in next meeting: Prasar Bharati board member
Never heard of such a thing during my tenure as I&B Minister: Ravishanker Prasad </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pioneer.com
Navin Upadhyay | New Delhi
Dancer-socialite turns filmmaker at taxpayers' expense for Gujarat-bashing documentaries ---- Obsession with Narendra Modi's Gujarat has made the UPA Government persuade Doordarshan to dole out Rs 10 crore for a series of documentaries highlighting the condition of women in Gujarat. The decision is bound to enrage the Gujarat Chief Minister because the person chosen to carry out the assignment is his bitter critic - Mallika Sarabhai, more famous for her dance performances and lesser known for her skills behind the TV camera. Â
Mallika Sarabhai
<b>Sources said the Planning Commission had sent the outline of a two-page pilot project to Prasar Bharati to commission a Gujarat-centric programme on the economic status of women in rural and slum areas.</b> The matter was discussed in the last meeting of the Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation where it met with stiff opposition from at least two members.
They objected to Sarabhai's choice, pointing out her bitter relation with the Gujarat Government. Sarabhai had run a bitter campaign against Modi after the Gujarat riots and the State Government had launched several prosecution proceedings against her. The Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation was told that assigning Sarabhai with a programme of such a nature would not be proper, objective criticism of the State Government might have to be an essential component.
"We were not opposed to the programme per se, but the way Mallika Sarabhai was handpicked for it in violation of all norms. We pointed that even if Mallika Sarabhai were to produce such a programme on Gujarat, it is bound to trigger a controversy and suffer from lack of credibility," a board member told The Pioneer.
The programme also came under critical scrutiny because of the amount involved. <b>A sum of Rs 10 crore for a commissioned programme for such State-centric documentaries may be unheard of</b>. More so, when Doordarshan is facing a financial crunch and there is greater thrust on programmes where the producer pays for the time slot.
"I find it difficult to believe that such large sums could be proposed for such programmes focussed on one State. I never heard of such a thing during my tenure as Minister for Information and Broadcasting," said Rajya Sabha member Ravishanker Prasad.
Sources said in the face of strong opposition, the Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation decided to broaden the scope of the series of documentaris by offering to include two more States on a suggestion made by a member, ML Mehta.
When contacted by The Pioneer, Prasar Bharti chairman MV Klamath refused to be drawn into the controversy. " I'll place my view in the board's meeting on the issue," he said.
However, Prasar Bharti's Chief Executive Officer Navin Kumar defended the decision and justified the allotment of Rs 10 crore for the serials. "This is going be a year-long series touching various issue. It will cover Gujarat and Haryna and another State, which we are trying to identify," he said. "Considering the vast number of episodes, the sum of Rs 10 crore is not extraordinary," he said.
Kumar also denied that members had opposed Mallika Sarabhai commissioned for the documentaries. "I am not aware of any such dissent," he told The Pioneer.
However, a member told The Pioneer that if the Prasar Bharati was to make the proceedings of the last Board meeting public, the truth will come out. "We had strongly opposed and will take up the issue again at next board meeting," a member said.
Planning Commission sends outline of two-page pilot project to Prasar Bharati
<b>Opponents say dancer's bias against State Government may creep into proposed docu-serial
We had strongly opposed it... will take it up in next meeting: Prasar Bharati board member
Never heard of such a thing during my tenure as I&B Minister: Ravishanker Prasad </b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->