In a blatant violation to the rules and regulations of Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corporation of India (PBBCI) and throwing all its norms to the winds, the Radio Kashmir Jammu (RKJ) has taken a major controversial decision of reinstating its blue eyed casual announcers who were failed in a re-screening-cum-audition test taken by RKJ in January this year. This major controversial move has not only opened a Pandoras Box but has also questioned the legality and constitution of a three member panel of eminent broadcasters and writers including a Padamshree who had unanimously taken the decision to drop these six announcers in the audition after they failed to perform.
As per Prasar Bharti guidelines, every year all casual announcers working in different radio stations in India including a panel of over 35 casual announcers in Jammu, have to undergo a re-screening test. This year, the audition test which was performed on 30 and 31 January 2014, saw an eminent panel of broadcasters including Prof Rita Jitendra, former secretary, J&K Academy of Art and Culture who is also a well known writer and an a grade drama artist, Padamshri Dr Jitendra Udhampuri , also a Sahitya Academi Award winner and Dr K C Dubey, former station director RKJ, perform as jury members who judged the auditions. In the auditions, six casual announcer namely Chanchal Sharma, Shveta including others could not perform and were deleted from the panel of casual announcers. One of the failed casual announcers Chanchal Sharma not only failed to perform in the January test but had also previously failed to perform her duties properly and thus mishandled transmissions many times.
After their failure in the test, a couple of failed casual announcers supported by some insider including some producers got engaged in a tirade against the RKJ officials who were part of the audition process and even used abusive language against them while the fact remained that a three-member jury panel judged all the casual announcers and failed those whom they did not deem fit for broadcasting.
In the latest move to reinstate these casuals, the RKJ not only removed the producer who was associated with these auditions but has also directed a new producer who took over as the concern-section incharge, to reinstate them and give them announcement duties. This is in sheer violation to all the existing Prasar Bharti rules and regulations. The six CAs who were failed by the panel six months ago, the sources said, were reinstated recently without any authority or order to reinstate them by DG All India Radio, New Delhi PBBCCI headquarters. This could in turn become a legal matter and is akin to swallowing your own spit, said a Prasar Bharti official on conditions of anonymity. While Chanchal and a couple others who were absent in the previous auditions were reinstated, many others including Shevta Sharma, Jagdeep etc were not cleared raising a big question over the genunity of this rescreening.
The failed casual announcers who were not reinstated have approached the PMO, Union minister for I&B, and CEO Prasar Bharti besides DG AIR for justice and end this discrimination meted out to them favouring their blue eyes persons.
Suvidha Sharma
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