Thiruvananthapuram: The weekly post-Cabinet media briefing in Kerala has quietly become one of the more engaging political theatres in the State Secretariat.
The reason is not a dramatic policy announcement but Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s willingness to stay put long after his opening remarks are over.
In a marked departure from the style adopted by his predecessor Pinarayi Vijayan, who discontinued the weekly Cabinet briefing soon after assuming office in 2016 and generally met the media only when he chose to, CM Satheesan has restored the practice and, more importantly, restored the questions.
His briefing is usually brief. The CM outlines the Cabinet decisions without unnecessary elaboration and then does something that has become increasingly rare in political communication: he throws the floor open.
Wednesday’s interaction offered another glimpse of the new format.
As reporters competed to outshout one another in a familiar scramble for attention, the Chief Minister smiled before reminding them, “Which other Chief Minister has sat before you like this and taken every question?”
When the clamour continued, he appealed for order. “Please don’t make such a noise. I am sitting before you, and I will answer all your questions.”
There is, however, one rule in Satheesan’s classroom. Once a reporter asks a question, interruptions are firmly discouraged.
“You have asked me a question. Now be patient and hear what I have to say. Please don’t create a mess and a noise,” he tells journalists whenever the briefing threatens to descend into a shouting match.
The contrast with the previous administration is hard to miss.
Vijayan’s interactions with the media were measured, tightly controlled and often brief, with only a limited number of questions entertained before he walked away.
Satheesan’s approach has changed the chemistry of the weekly briefing.
The sessions are longer, noisier and occasionally resemble a college classroom more than a government press conference.
But for journalists accustomed to chasing unanswered questions, the new format offers something refreshingly simple, a Chief Minister who does not rush for the exit once the statement is over.
(IANS)
