NEW DELHI: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is said to be reconsidering its equation with news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) and is learnt to have sent a letter to the news agency over its reporting.

PTI, one of the country’s largest and oldest news agencies, has come under fire for an interview, which was published earlier this week, with Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong. In the interview, Weidong blamed India for the ongoing border crisis in Ladakh and the violent face-off in Galwan Valley that killed 20 Indian soldiers. 

The interview, the pubcaster said, was disseminated widely by PTI to its domestic subscribers and prominently shared with foreign entities.

Prasar Bharati stated that it is reviewing the need to continue their relationship in the wake of recent news reports that it alleged were "detrimental to India’s national interest and may have undermined the country’s territorial integrity."

It added that PTI "has conducted itself in a manner contrary to the values that the public broadcaster has been mandated to uphold." Because of this, the pubcaster is reconsidering being a patron of PTI. The news agency is substantially supported by the public broadcaster through huge annual fees towards subscriptions which is around Rs 9 crore. It has repeatedly refused to review the terms and condition of the contract since 2016-2017. 

This seems to not have been the first time as Prasar Bharati claims that it has been time and again alerting PTI on "editorial lapses resulting in dissemination of wrong news harming public interest."

Prasar Bharati will convey its decision soon.