Government accepts Prasar Bharati chairman's resignation

New Delhi, Dec 18 : The government Friday said it has accepted the resignation of Prasar Bharati chairman Arun Bhatnagar who had resigned in May amid his tussle with the public broadcaster's chief executive officer B.S. Lalli.

Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer who had taken over as chairman of Prasar Bharati in May 2008, had submitted his resignation in May soon after the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power for a second term.

The government has accepted his resignation, the information and broadcasting ministry said in a statement here. His resignation was sent to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh a few months ago. Bhatnagar had resigned amid infighting with between CEO Lalli and board members.

Bhatnagar had accused Lalli of a host of financial and procedural irregularities which were denied by the latter.

Early this month the government had ordered a special audit of the public broadcaster over the functioning of the board and other financial issues linked to it.