THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ordeal of party workers and the public sitting through hours-long speeches by political leaders may soon be a thing of the past, at least in the CPM. The party’s Central Committee has imposed a strict time limit on speeches at public meetings, directing leaders to wrap up within 45 minutes, irrespective of whether they are speaking on ideology or political issues.
Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, known for standing by party principles, was the first to set an example on Wednesday. At a public meeting organised as part of the CPM Thiruvananthapuram extended district conference, Pinarayi concluded his speech within the stipulated 45 minutes. As he returned to his seat, he reminded party state secretary M V Govindan of the time limit.
Though Govindan assured him that he would stick to the deadline, his speech went on as he elaborated on the alleged vendetta by the Enforcement Directorate against Pinarayi and P A Mohammed Riyas.
Meanwhile, the CPM will begin meetings in its 210 area committees from Thursday to discuss the action programmes drawn up at the extended state conference held in Kozhikode.
After October 24, around 2,400 local committees will meet, followed by nearly 38,000 branch committees before November 15, to discuss the action plan.