"The rail coach factory being set up here will ensure development of the entire state. But the manner in which the work was stopped by the state government and police force was misused was very unfortunate. There should be no politics in the development work," Prasad told a rally after the foundation laying ceremony of a rail coach factory in Rae Bareli.

The Railway Minister was referring to Mayawati government's eleventh-hour cancellation of land allotment for the project last year that had triggered a political storm.

However, the state government later restored the land. "I want to ask Mayawati that in which direction she is taking UP to. Neither my children nor Congress workers would come here to work in the coach factory. This factory would provide employment to the people of the state. What Mayawati did was not the right thing and she will get a befitting reply from the people," Lalu said.

Terming the coach factory as a "gift" to the people from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the minister said her untiring efforts made the project a reality. Prasad announced setting up of an apprentice institute in the region.

"The institute would provide training to the youths. They would no longer be required to travel all the way to Mumbai, only to get bashed by the locals," he said in a veiled reference to last year's incident in which students from UP and Bihar, who had gone to appear in railway recruitment examination, were assaulted by MNS activists in Mumbai.