Laloo Prasad tries to pull up Kerala MP P.C. Thomas who was protesting in Parliament against the railway budget for ignoring his state. (PTI)

New Delhi, July 7: The National Democratic Alliance kept up the pressure on Laloo Prasad Yadav during the discussion on the railway budget in the Rajya Sabha this afternoon though the minister was not present.

Tempers flared over his “tainted” image, with a slanging match between the Opposition and treasury benches leading to a 20-minute disruption of the House.

Initiating the debate on the budget, Balbir Punj of the BJP began with the fodder scandal and went on to talk of corruption in public life and Laloo Prasad’s resignation as chief minister of Bihar — issues that had little to do with the railway.

He was shouted down by the United Progressive Alliance, including its supporters in the Left benches, which said he was going off track, that too when the minister was not in the House.

Punj, however, stood his ground with help from party colleague S.S. Ahluwalia, a former member of the Congress shouting brigade.

Ahluwalia had once used his lung power to defend Rajiv Gandhi when the Opposition had gone after the then Congress government over the Bofors issue.

Referring to Laloo Prasad’s speech yesterday when he mentioned that the budget had the blessings of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Punj asked: “Was the budget shown to the Congress president before it was presented in the Lok Sabha?”

The Congress and the RJD members immediately jumped to their feet to protest. They said mentioning members of the Lok Sabha when they were not present to defend themselves was against the rules of the House.

Punj, however, continued to taunt, saying the ruling coalition members should know if the railway minister discussed the budget proposals with Sonia.

This provoked Suresh Pachauri of the Congress to raise a point of order on parliamentary practices.

Rajya Sabha chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat then read out a ruling that, except policy pronouncements, incidents or speeches in the Lok Sabha could not be mentioned in the Upper House. He also asked Punj to stick to the railway budget.

Undeterred, Punj said Laloo Prasad had mentioned Sonia several times in his speech. Amid protests by the ruling coalition, Shekhawat told Punj that having Sonia’s blessings did not mean the budget was shown to her.

The chairman insisted on the ruling he had read out earlier and firmly told Punj to get on with his railway debate.

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh silently sat through the heated exchange and finally walked out of the House.

Punj said there had been a spurt in dacoities on trains since Laloo Prasad took charge but the budget had done nothing to address safety of passengers.

Dubbing the minister’s nearly two-hour budget speech a “nautanki (drama)”, he said the railway ministry should be renamed entertainment ministry.