KOZHIKODE: The think tanks of the Opposition, bent on keeping Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on his toes, can now get ready for the reverse challenge. They might have to call upon their best faculties to make Chandy sit down from here on. At the ‘Thought Leadership Workshop on High Performance for the Council of Ministers’ organised by the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode on Thursday, the Chief Minister basked in the compliment given to him that his administrative skills were due to the hours he spends standing.Oommen Chandy showered this compliment on himself when the IIMK director Debashis Chatterjee listed out tips that keep men energetic, enthusiastic and focused on work. “Standing will refresh the body and make the brain alert and focused,” Chatterjee said. Hearing this, Finance Minister K M Mani said: “Our Chief Minister is always standing and he seems to have no problem.” Then the director replied: “That’s why Oommen Chandy is simply outstanding.”Later, talking to reporters, Chandy proudly announced the appreciation he received from the management expert. However, Industries MinisterP K Kunhalikutty corrected him and said, “They also said that spending too much time standing is not good for health”. Ministers were all smiles.In the one-day workshop titled ‘Gift Unopened: Governance Insights for Transformation,’ ministers were given training to tackle stress and tension and provided tips on how to approach things positively through effective utilisation of one’s skills. Except Food Minister T M Jacob, all the ministers of the state Cabinet attended it.“Being politicians, we have to address more than 100 issues per day. But management experts made it clear that it is scientifically not possible and only three major things have to kept in mind at a time,” Kunhalikutty was open on what the ministers were taught. However, Oommen Chandy interrupted and said, “Personally, I don’t agree to this and I have a different view.”All the time, K M Mani kept on saying that it was not a teaching class. “This was not a student-teacher affair. It was an interactive session in which we shared our views with experts,” he said.The IIMK director was happy that the politicians strictly followed the discipline of the institute. Mobile phones were switched off and they entered the classrooms in time. “If you are late you will be fined Rs 1,000. You have to pay the fine if you arrive late even after the interval. I had to go to toilet but managed everything within five minutes,” Kunhalikutty said evoking smiles in the room. And what about their performance?“Above 90 per cent,” the IIMK director gave the maximum possible mark.
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