KOZHIKODE: A business conclave organised by Rotary International Kozhikode has become controversial as the training session led by business motivator Anil Balachandran had to be stopped midway owing to heated exchanges between the participants and the speaker. The conclave organisers alleged that Anil used abusive words at businessmen and this led to a clash between him and the audience present at the event. A video of the clash went viral on social media.
Rotary International’s Mega Business Conclave was held on May 21 and 22 at the Calicut Trade Center in Kozhikode. The clash occurred during a session titled ‘Why can’t sales be closed? During his speech, Anil shouted at businessmen and used abusive words against them. As the audience turned violent, the organisers intervened and wound up the event.
Meanwhile, the organisers alleged that Anil was not ready to come to the venue from the hotel where he was staying citing that there were not enough listeners for his session. Later, he reached the stage following continued persuasion of the organisers. The programme started an hour late. Soon after the speech began, the speaker started shouting at the audience. The video shows Anil stating that he was frustrated with the organisers for the low number of participants. Later Anil continued to use abusive words against the participants. Following this, the participants protested and asked him to stop the speech.
“Three months ago we paid Rs 4 lakh to Anil as remuneration for handling the session at the event. However, he purposefully delayed the session by claiming that the audience was thin. It was after considerable persuasion that he left the hotel. But when he reached the stage he purposefully tried to create an issue,” said Rotary Calicut president Saveesh K V.