Thiruvananthapuram: After his perplexing refusal to reveal the sponsor of his chartered flight to Malappuram, and the near-universal ridicule he exposed himself to as a consequence, Chief Minister VD Satheesan resumed his customary post-Cabinet briefing on Friday.

On his return, though he made an attempt to look friendlier than usual, the Chief Minister was still exasperated by questions about his chartered flight and refused to answer them. "I have closed the chapter. All that I wanted to say I had said then (during the September 23 post-Cabinet briefing). No more questions. You can ask me anything else," the CM said.

Nonetheless, he gave tactically smart responses to three developments that have the potential to both trouble and embarrass the Congress and the UDF.

Diary trap
After the High Court verdict asking the Vigilance to register an FIR against Pinarayi Vijayan, this poser was easy to anticipate. Shouldn't FIRs be registered against UDF leaders whose names have appeared in CMRL MD Sasidharan Kartha's diary?

"You just have to carefully read the High Court verdict," Satheesan said. "It is clearly stated that there is no need to take any case based on diary jottings," the CM said. This defence, interestingly, was erected upon the ruins of Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan's legal fight against Pinarayi Vijayan.

Kuzhalnadan's revision petition against Pinarayi Vijayan in the CMRL case was dismissed by both the High Court and the Supreme Court because it was essentially based on the entries maintained in the diary of a CMRL representative.

The October 9 court order also referenced its own earlier verdict quashing Kuzhalnadan's petition, saying: "Therein, it was contended that the entries in the diary maintained by the authorised representative of CMRL had no evidentiary value." This was the CM's defence, too.

To SIR, with love
The second tricky poser had its origins in CJP founder Abhijit Dipke's remark at the People's Tribunal held in Bengaluru on October 8. Dipke had said that the authoritarian manner in which Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was conducted had caused the fall of even the CPM-led government in Kerala.

Satheesan was asked whether there was any truth in the charge that Rathan Kelkar was made secretary to the Chief Minister as quid pro quo for the electoral favours he extended to the UDF as Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala.

The CM sounded amused by the suggestion. He laughed before pulling up his shirt collar with mock pride. "This man who is sitting before you is someone who had become Chief Minister after hoodwinking Modi and Pinarayi Vijayan and subverting the electoral rolls to secure a win of 102 seats," he said with a taunting laugh. "Isn't that a joke," he said.

He said that no one had any complaints about SIR in Kerala. "Not the BJP nor the CPM. If at all anyone had complaints, it was the UDF. We had sent complaints to the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer here. And these issues were resolved," the CM said.

In fact, the most serious worry was raised by the Indian Union Muslim League, and it was related to a technical issue faced by overseas voters. The IUML had pointed out that overseas voters could not fill the mandatory 'place of birth' column in Form 6A, meant for the enrolment of Malayalis living outside the state. Only those living in other Indian states could fill the column, but not overseas voters in places like the Gulf and Europe. This was eventually resolved.

"In Kerala, there was not one complaint about stolen vote," Satheesan said.

Adoor rebellion
It was also inevitable that UDF convenor Adoor Prakash's public revolt against him would crop up. Prakash had called a press conference and blurted out that the CM kept him in the dark about major policy decisions.

Satheesan demonstrated political discipline. There was not even a veiled remark that could scar Adoor Prakash. On the contrary, the CM seemed to hint that he was willing to mend his ways.

"I don't want to comment on the issue. Only if two hands clash will there be sound," the CM said. "But as Chief Minister, I am subservient to the party. And I am not above criticism. If I am wrong, I am willing to correct myself. And if I am criticised even if I have not done anything wrong, I will try my best to convince my critics," he said.

It was what he said after this preface that offered a hint that he is willing to accept collective leadership. "All policy decisions will be discussed with the party," the CM said.

Perhaps his instinct to deny that he had done anything wrong kicked in quickly. "I do hold consultations," he said. "You know the composition of the Cabinet. There is the KPCC president (Sunny Joseph), two former KPCC presidents (Ramesh Chennithala and K Muraleedharan), there is a Congress Working Committee member (Chennithala, again), two KPCC working presidents (P C Vishnunath and T Siddique), the Youth Congress state president (O J Janeesh)," he said. All important UDF leaders except "P J Joseph sir" are there in the Cabinet, he added. "I do consult with all of them," he said.

And then a trace of remorse returns. "If there is a serious charge that such consultations are not taking place, it will definitely be resolved," he said.