CPI(M) Protests Against Abandonment of Kanjikode Coach Factory by BJP, Congress Governments

Palakkad: The CPI(M) Mundur Area Committee organised a protest sit-in in front of the Railway Divisional Office against what it termed the betrayal of the people by the BJP and Congress governments in abandoning the railway coach factory project. CPI(M) state committee member N N Krishnadas inaugurated the protest.

Coach factories in Palakkad and Rae Bareli were announced in the 2008 Railway Budget. After the V S government began acquiring land in Kanjikode for the project, both the Congress and BJP protested against the move. V S Achuthanandan personally met farmers and completed the land acquisition process.

The subsequent Oommen Chandy government laid the foundation stone for the project at Palakkad Fort Maidan during the Piravom by-election period, for political gain.

The foundation stone for a project for which land had been acquired at Kanjikode was laid at Palakkad Fort Maidan. When the BJP came to power in 2014, the project effectively faced its end. Then MP M B Rajesh submitted various documents to facilitate the project, but the Centre rejected them all. Congress MPs, who should have exerted pressure on the Centre for the coach factory and other demands, remained mere spectators.

The Central government announced recently that the Kanjikode coach factory project, for which the foundation stone had been laid 14 years ago and which was expected to contribute to Keralam’s industrial development, had been abandoned. The Centre cited the argument that there was no need for new coach factories in the country as the reason for dropping the project.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw gave the response to a question raised by CPI(M) MP John Brittas in the Rajya Sabha. The CPI(M) organised the protest in front of the Railway Divisional Office in opposition to the decision.

CPI(M) district committee member T K Achuthan presided over the protest. District committee members P A Gokuldas, T N Kandamuthan, V K Jayaprakash, D Sadashivan and V Sethumadhavan also spoke. CPI(M) Mundur area secretary C R Sajeev welcomed the gathering, while K K Sureshkumar proposed the vote of thanks.