Vajpayee to have last word on CAS, calls I&B minister

The last word on the Conditional Access System (CAS) is not out yet. PM A.B. Vajpayee, it is learnt, has summoned Information and Broadcasti...

The last word on the Conditional Access System (CAS) is not out yet. PM A.B. Vajpayee, it is learnt, has summoned Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravishankar Prasad tomorrow for a threadbare discussion on the subject that has forced the BJP to first take sides only to close ranks later.

While PM-appointed Media Advisor to I&B Ministry Sudheendra Kulkarni has been chairing almost all important meetings, it is learnt Vajpayee has stepped in after requests from party leaders. Prasad, who arrives from London tomorrow, has kept himself posted about recent developments on CAS.

The PMO, it is learnt, has kept itself abreast on the issue with Additional Secretary Pradipto Ghosh meeting Ministry officials. It was on the last day of the Parliament’s Winter Session that the Amendments to the Cable Regulation Networks Act was passed in Rajya Sabha after it was excluded twice by the Business Advisory Committee.

While the Act enables the consumer to exercise choice over what he wants to see after buying a box, the Act calls for investments to be made by the cable operator/MSOs in improving infrastructure before putting the system in place.

Meanwhile, consumer groups are raising their voice against what they perceive as hasty implementation of the system. It is learnt that H.D. Shourie will chair the consumer group. Four groups under the Consumer Coordination Cell — with representatives from Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai will meet tomorrow in the Capital to debate the issue. ‘‘We aren’t opposed to consumers’ welfare,’’ said S. Krishnan, adding there were a million queries that needed answers. The PM will have the last word on the issue.