Railway minister Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday confirmed that the coach factory was ready to roll out the first of its coaches by November. We are waiting for a suitable date for the inauguration, he said. The rail coach factory at Lalganj in Rae Bareilly, announced during Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure, has seen an investment of R1,685 crore.
No invitations have been sent to UP chief minister Mayawati for the country's third biggest rail coach factory's first rollout. Protocol has nothing to do
with the state CM being invited; the local MP has to be invited, said Trivedi.
Congressmen say that the factory, with its message of development, and Rahul Gandhi's proposed mass contact programme in the state starting November 14 will rejuvenate the party's prospects in the state. The factory saw the Mayawati government first withdraw the allocation of 182 hectare of land to it and, later, restore it after protests, said a senior leader. This is a classic case of the BSP government blocking development in the state just over sharing of credit, said a Congressman.
Gandhis visit to the factory would be her first to Rae Bareilly after her surgery two months ago.