EVEN as his future as Prasar Bharati Corporation's CEO hangs by a gossamer-thin thread—the ordinance that facilitated his appointment lapses on May 6—the irrepressible Surrindar Singh Gill hasn't let false modesty get the better of his survival instincts. That's not his style. "I have a job to do," declares the 72-year-old former bureaucrat, "and I'll do it as long as I'm allowed to. Why should I be punished for doing a good job?"
Why, indeed? The answer, insist information and broadcasting ministry officials, is obvious: the BJP-led government isn't comfortable with Gill's 'I-know-best' approach. It's looking for a more 'pliable' gentleman to quietly slip into the hot seat. As soon as Sushma Swaraj assumed charge of the I&B ministry, the Prasar Bharati CEO sent her a detailed note listing his achievements in the four months that he's been in the saddle: restoration of DD and Akashvani's credibility, upgrading of the quality of DD's serials, reduction in film-based programmes, promotion of Indian culture, DD's successful coverage of the Lok Sabha elections, an aggressive entry into the field of live sports coverage, a thorough revamp of DD's commercial set-up, reorganisation of DD and AIR's staffing patterns, stoppage of moonlighting by DD's technical personnel and much else.
It's evident that Gill will not give up without having his say. "The impression that the BJP wants me out has undermined my moral authority," he complains. "As a result, my critics are having a field day." Indeed, there is no dearth of people waiting for Gill to get out of the way. Says one young TV producer whose pilot for a serial was rejected by Gill, allegedly 'without even a preview': "The officials concerned have asked me to wait until May 6 and then put in a fresh application."
But Gill shows no signs of budging just yet. "The most vocal group among my critics are the empanelled producers whom I have derecognised. It was a rip-off. DD is not an employment exchange. My loyalty is only to the viewer. I can't waste precious resources on substandard programmes," says the pugnacious CEO.
"I've hurt the interests of people who were merrily squeezing the organisation dry," says Gill. "But only a handful of people are complaining." Sushma Swaraj certainly isn't one of them, he asserts: "She has been courteous to me. There's been no signal that she wants to replace me." But that isn't what the bureaucratic buzz around town suggests. At a meeting last week, the I&B minister, her deputy Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, I&B secretary Piyush Mankad and several other ministry offi-cials decided in principle to let the Prasar Bharati Amendment Ordinance lapse. If the original provisions of the Act come back into effect, Gill will automatically be disqualified. Reason:the retirement age of Prasar Bharati's CEO is 62 years.
WHAT, however, is only one interpretation. Another school of thought—and it isn't Gill alone who represents it—insists that "the law is always prospective, not retrospective". Put simply, Gill's appointment in November last year was perfectly legal under the rule in force then and, therefore, the age factor, when invoked, will apply only to future CEOs, not to Gill himself. So is a legal battle in the offing? Gill is ruling out no option, although he refuses to place all his cards on the table.
So, notwithstanding the clouds of uncertainty hovering over Mandi House, Gill carries on regardless. "The wheeler-dealers have disappeared from the corridors of Mandi House," he claims. "Corruption has been weeded out, administrative discipline has been enforced and punctuality is now an established norm. Why should anybody have a problem with that?" Well, for one, the ministry itself has a problem. Gill, being Gill, is not amenable to control. So, a replacement by the second week of May can't be ruled out. Names like Inderjit Badhwar, who was Sushma Swaraj's media manager during the elections, Rajat Sharma, who is writing Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's biography, and Mrinal Pande, who recently quit NDTV over differences with Prannoy Roy, are doing the rounds.
Mindful of the sword hanging over him, Gill is at pains to point out that he isn't quite the dictatorial, whimsical ogre that he's made out to be. "I have improved DD without suspending anybody. I've always tried to carry everyone along with me," he says. "For every transfer, all seven deputy director-generals are consulted and previews of programmes are attended by 50 to 60 people," he adds.
But despite all his claims, officials, used to a more laidback system, have constantly been at the receiving end. Says an AIR staffer: "In real terms, he hasn't done much. There's more sound and fury than genuine action." A senior DD official is critical of his arbitrary style of functioning: "He rarely gives orders in writing." Whether that's true or not, the writing is perhaps on the wall for Gill unless, as a senior I&B official suggests, the prime minister intervenes.
