Thiruvananthapuram, March 11 -- Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty on Wednesday alleged that the Union government has "deliberately excluded" state ministers from the inauguration ceremony of National Highway 66, despite the state contributing around Rs 5,580 crore for land acquisition for the project, among other contributions.

Speaking to ANI, Sivankutty said the state government had not even been formally invited to the event, even though it played a key role in facilitating the highway's development.

"It is shocking that representatives of the state government have been deliberately excluded from the inauguration ceremony of National Highway 66 (India), which was completed after the state government spent a huge amount of money ...