Under V D Satheesan, the idea of a post-cabinet press briefing has been turned on its head. 

There is not much 'briefing' left. The Chief Minister has let 'press grilling' take over. Thus, a traditional platform for a Chief Minister to formally share official information with the public, and where limited questions are entertained towards the end, has been transformed into an informal space where the Chief Minister engages in a heated verbal duel with reporters for almost the entire duration of the event.

Journalists shouting questions like people attending a crowded 'grama sabha' meeting was unheard of even in the time of Oommen Chandy, a Chief Minister whose ability to sustain a calm manner could perhaps be rivalled only by a serene face on a painting or photograph.

Satheesan is no Chandy. His face is like a flipbook of rapidly shifting expressions. Take, for instance, the moment in today's post-cabinet briefing when he was confronted about his allegation against the CPM mouthpiece Deshabhimani. 

Last week, the CM had claimed that Deshabhimani was the first to report about Mediterranean Shipping Company's move to buy Adani shares, and that its source was the previous LDF government. Today, he was told that the information was first carried by ET Infra and Mathrubhumi. 

Satheesan began with ridicule (with a forward thrust of his head and a sly smile he said "It seems you want me to repeat what Deshabhimani said"), but when the reporter persisted with the question, he took on a resigned manner ("fine, then you go ahead), and once the question was seemingly complete, the CM employed sarcasm (he gave a dramatic rendering of the headline of the Deshabhimani report: "MSC is coming, with foreign investment. LDF government's foresight." "Foresight," he repeated to enhance the irony), and when the reporter butted in once again, the CM was furious ("Please. When I am answering, you have no right to interrupt. Please. You can't ask the same question thrice and then try to prevent me from talking. And such courtesies are expected even from a journalist") and then he adopted a dismissive attitude ("I had to say this because after giving out a news report that the ₹13,000-crore investment had materialised as a result of the LDF government's foresight, Pinarayi Vijayan is now saying that it came about as part of a deal that I had with Adani.")

From ridicule to resignation to sarcasm to fury to disdain, and all of this in less than 30 seconds.

Regardless, the CM seems to enjoy being provoked. He knows that what defines his personality as a Chief Minister is the answers that he shoots back during these weekly post-cabinet 'press grillings'.

The 'grilling' on Wednesday helped him demonstrate his statesmanship. The posers flowed from former minister and CPM leader Mohammad Riyas's allegation that Hindu Aikya Vedi leaders were frequenting his office.

"Hindu Aikya Vedii leaders said they wanted to see me. I gave them an appointment, and they saw me publicly during visiting hours. And two of them are among my bitterest critics. On seeing their names, should I have said that I will not see them? And yesterday, leaders of the NGO Union, Gazetted Officers Association and Kerala State teachers Association that are now agitating against the government had come to see me. They were also seated in the very same seats that Hindu Aikya Vedi leaders had occupied. Am I the Chief Minister of just the Congress or the UDF? Am I not the Chief Minister of Kerala? It will be improper only if I refuse to see them," he said.

Riyas had also unwittingly gifted Satheesan a whip to lash the CPM with. "And to Riyas, I have this to say. I did not meet these Sangh Parivar leaders in secret. I did not meet them like Pinarayi Vijayan who travelled incognito and met RSS leaders in Mascot Hotel away from the glare of journalists," he said, in reference to a reported secret meeting between Pinarayi Vijayan and RSS leaders in a premium hotel in the capital city right after he took over as Chief Minister in 2016.

The 'grilling' helped him connect with the masses, too. This was thanks to former minister P Rajeev's remarks that the Chief Minister still has the body language of an Opposition Leader. "I am aware of P Rajeev's observation about my body language. He is an intellectual, a skilled orator, a thinker and a writer. I am none of these. I am just an ordinary man from the countryside who laughs at jokes, who cries when sad, and who explodes when angry. Rajeev perhaps will disapprove of my body language," he said gravely, without any emotion. This was a blockbuster monologue delivered with sly solemnity.

The 'grilling' helped Satheesan bury allegations of arrogance, also. He was questioned about his alleged refusal to meet NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair. "It is wrong information," the CM said. "He had called my private secretary, as I did not have my phone with me. I was busy with the Budget preparations. I called him back, and we had a very cordial conversation. He said we should meet, and I told him we will. But two days later, there were reports saying I had refused permission. These were only reports, but I had not come across him making that charge," the CM said.

In addition, the 'grilling' offered him a chance to tell his own partymen to behave, to stamp his authority. The CM was questioned about the objections of the KSU unit in the Thiruvananthapuram Law College regarding the appointment of government pleaders. Congress MLA Abin Varkey had also expressed solidarity with the Law College KSU Unit.

"Are government pleaders appointed by the KSU unit of the Law College? The KSU unit has got nothing to do with government pleaders. Nothing at all. It is the media that has given such things an inflated importance," the CM said.

On top of it all, the 'grilling' allowed him to imperiously dismiss charges of soft Hindutva. It also gave him an opportunity to wear his faith on his sleeves. 

The CM was told that his visit to Kollur Mookambika Temple twice after he took over as Chief Minister as a sign of soft Hindutva. "It is my personal right to visit Mookambika Temple. It is my constitutional right. I am a devotee of Kollur Mookambika, and I am very happy to say that. I have been going to Mookambika for the last 37 years, and won't it be improper for me not to visit Mookambika after I became Chief Minister?" he said with a satisfied smile.