Kozhikode, Sep 8 (IANS) The CPI-M, increasingly wary of confidential discussions finding their way outside the party, appears to have taken an unusual step to plug information leaks ahead of its crucial three-day extended Kerala state Committee meeting beginning in Kozhikode on Saturday.
According to party sources, members of the Thiruvananthapuram district leadership have been asked to sign consent forms authorising the disclosure of their telephone call details to the party, in what is understood to be an effort to identify the source of any leakage of confidential discussions.
The move, if confirmed, would mark an extraordinary extension of the party’s traditional emphasis on secrecy surrounding its internal deliberations.
The forms were reportedly circulated among district secretariat members recently.
The format is understood to contain an authorisation by the individual to the telephone service provider to furnish call details.
The leadership has also warned that strict action would follow if confidential party discussions were leaked.
The reported move comes at a particularly sensitive time for the CPI-M.
The party had gone into the 2026 Assembly election expecting Pinarayi Vijayan to secure a historic third consecutive term, but suffered a severe electoral setback instead.
The defeat has since triggered considerable restlessness within the organisation, with questions being raised over the party’s political strategy, organisational functioning, and leadership.
The extended state committee meeting in Kozhikode, spread over three days from Saturday, assumes significance against this backdrop.
With a large section of the party leadership expected to participate, the discussions are likely to include a detailed assessment of the electoral defeat.
Leaks from party meetings have become a growing concern with the proliferation of mobile phones and other electronic devices.
Meetings that were once conducted with considerable secrecy have increasingly become vulnerable to information being transmitted outside almost instantly.
The CPI-M itself has, in the past, used technological evidence, including phone records, while acting against leaders and workers for alleged violations of party discipline.
The latest reported move suggests that technology may now be turning inward, as the party seeks to guard the confidentiality of its own deliberations.
However, the move has reportedly caused unease among a section of leaders, who feel that seeking such consent amounts to an extraordinary measure.
They are understood to be considering bringing the issue to the attention of senior state and central leaders.
–IANS
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