Thiruvananthapuram:  Kerala opposition leader V S Achuthanandan claimed he was not extended a proper invitation by Railways for the foundation laying of the rail coach factory and said he would boycott the function in Palakkad town.

"I was not invited either by the Railway Minister or Kerala Chief Minister. So the question of my attending the function does not arise", he told reporters.

The 87-year-old CPI(M) leader said he was just sent in an invitation through a junior Railway officer recently, flouting protocol.

The rail coach factory is coming up at Kanjikode in Malampuzha assembly constituency in Palakkad, represented consecutively for the last three terms by Achuthanandan.

The foundation stone is scheduled to be laid by Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi tomorrow (22 February) .

The proposal for the coach factory, a long-pending demand of Kerala, was cleared by the Centre when the LDF ministry headed by Achuthanandan was in power.

The CPI(M) leadership strongly objected to setting up the factory as a public-private venture instead of being a project fully owned by Railways, as originally promised.

Tags: Achuthanandan not invited, Kerala, Palakkad, rail coach factory, Railways, South, Thiruvananthapuram