``How is the common person affected by what a minister has to say,'' asks Yadav, pointing out that DD news bulletins have now gone back to faithfully reporting ministers' statements and inaugurations. ``They have again brought back political control to DD. There is no such thing as autonomy anymore.''Deputy Director-General of DD News and Current Affairs, Sahab Singh, however, insists that he has no instructions from either the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Pramod Mahajan, or the BJP that the Government be projected in a positive light. ``In any case, it's for others to judge.

We're just the provider of news,'' he says.

But the provider of news has become decidedly shy of courting controversy. Not only are sensitive issues such asthe attacks on Christians in Gujarat being dropped as possible subjects for discussion in the daily 10-minute post-news reviews, but also a practice is being made of leading with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's statements, much as it was in the pre-Prasar Bharati era.

There have also been occasions when the Prime Minister has been projected at the cost of perhaps more important news.