When the board had requested the meeting with Vajpayee they had also wanted to raise the issue of vacancies. With a part-time member, Member (Finance) and Member (Personnel), as well as the CEO's position lying vacant, the board members feel they have not had an opportunity to function freely. The board had requested the meeting at its meeting last month.

The appointment with Vajpayee will be preceded by a board meeting on Thursday, where Prasar Bharati's autonomy will be one of the items on the agenda for discussion. The meeting will also focus on the disparity inpay between various cadres of AIR and DD which has led to a considerable amount of unrest.

Of late, there have been complaints from the DD newsroom about directives from Mahajan and his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Ajay Singh. The Minister has even been known to call up the newsroom personally and pass on information about Cabinet meetings. The OSD also had a special role to play during the Union Budget telecast and the live telecast of the Prime Minister's trip across Wagha to Lahore.

But clearly, there is a rift within the board on how to tackle the Government's encroachment. When contacted in Bangalore, board member U R Rao said he was not aware of any intervention by the Government's. When his attention was drawn to DD news, he said "in some instances the change has actually been for the better".

He maintained the board had been functioning "independently and autonomously" and that it did not concern itself with "day to day functioning".