The ceremony, which was also attended by Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, took place over three months after the project was stalled by the Mayawati government, which cancelled land allotment for it in the last minute, claiming that farmers objected to the factory coming up here.

While Gandhi spoke of how the factory would provide jobs to more than 8,000 people and would be pollution-free, she refrained from commenting on the UP government, saying, “Laluji has already spoken about it”.

The Railway Minister had openly criticised the UP government for delaying the project, saying that it was unacceptable to politicise development.

Referring to the attacks on northerners by MNS activists in Mumbai during the railway board exams, he joked: “Now I will also open an apprentice institute here. Then you won’t have to go to Mumbai and get attacked.”

Prasad was also full of praise for Sonia. “No MP visits his or her constituency as often as Soniaji does. Even I don’t.”

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi described himself as “junior MP” of Rae Bareli. “The railway coach factory is the biggest achievement of the last five years,” he said.

In her speech, Gandhi also highlighted the UPA’s developmental schemes over the past five years, mentioning several projects in her constituency, including the BHEL unit, Hindustan Paper Mills and the NTPC unit. She added that she hoped Prasad would keep this area in mind while presenting the railway budget next month.

Referring to economic meltdown, she said that the government remained alert and that banks are giving loans to small industries to maintain the pace of economic development. She added that there would be no shortage of funds for the development of infrastructure, and even hinted that the government may reduce the prices of petrol and diesel.

The farmers present also expressed their enthusiasm. “The factory will change the map of the area. Not only will the market grow, there will also be many more jobs,” said Annu Singh, a Lalganj farmer. Atul Kumar, whose father is gram pradhan of Aihar village, said, “This project would help us get power regularly.”

According to a press release issued by the Railways, the new factory will manufacture 840 state-of-the-art coaches each year.