The bitter power feud between the CPI and the CPI(M), heading the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government in Kerala, reached a head on Tuesday forcing the abrupt termination of an LDF meeting convened to sort out their latest bone of contention, Kerala’s Integrated Food Security (IFS) programme. The IFS issue was taken to the LDF meeting on Tuesday since a bilateral meeting between the two parties on Monday could not find any solution.

Sources said Tuesday’s meeting had to be scuttled since CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan and Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan took to leading the attacks, to the point of trading personal insults. LDF sources said Wednesday’s meeting was cancelled in view of Tuesday’s happenings.

The state planning board had urged the state Government to go for the IFS programme considering the state’s precarious food situation: Kerala does not produce even one-fourth of its required rice and very little of other foodstuff, while prices are going up steadily.

The programme’s basic objective is to increase paddy output from 6.3 lakh tonnes logged in 2005-06 to at least 9.45 lakh tonnes by 2011-2012. The IFS idea aims to up state’s milk production from the current 20.63 lakh tonnes to 35 lakh tonnes, and that of eggs from the present 1,196 million to 2,395 million.

The annual plan had projected Rs 200 crore for paddy development, Rs 100 crore for integrated cattle development programme and Rs 6 crore for dairy development on a sustainable commercial basis, apart from Rs 4 crore for the urgently needed mechanisation. A two-tier structure, involving a committee chaired by the CM and seven ministers as members to oversee the programme and a sub-committee with the state Agriculture Production Commissioner heading 25 handpicked expert members in an executive role, was what the state planning board proposed.

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