New Delhi, April 26: Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Laloo Prasad Yadav ? two of the best-known faces of the Indian political theatre ? today faced off on the floor of the Lok Sabha, each trying to outwit the other.

After a long absence, Vajpayee appeared in the House to demand the resignation of the railway minister and iterate that he was proud to have been associated with the RSS from ?his childhood days?.

Laloo Prasad turned the tables on a belligerent Opposition and tried to drive a wedge between Vajpayee and his party. Referring to his surprise appearance, he said: ?When the BJP is in trouble, they produce Vajpayee to bail them out.? He reminded the former Prime Minister of his interview where he said the party has not given him any work.

Vajpayee sat looking pleased as punch even though his party MPs charged Laloo Prasad with making ?irrelevant? statements.

He demanded Laloo Prasad?s resignation not because of the fodder scam but Thursday?s train accident in Gujarat and the minister?s allegation of an attempt on his life by the Sangh parivar. ?Is it a crime to talk about morality in this House?? he asked, even as the Left and the RJD led the charge against the Opposition. In a veiled warning, the former Prime Minister said: ?Laloo should not continue if the House has to function. He should resign on moral grounds.?

He asked the Speaker to expunge the names of the RSS, Bajrang Dal and the VHP from the Lok Sabha records. Laloo Prasad, in his statement in the House yesterday, had accused these organisations of carrying out an attack on him.

Laloo Prasad, however, ended his speech on a defiant note. ?I have been born in a caste and community which do not lie. I stand by every word in my statement,? he said.

Both their speeches were punctuated with interruptions and angry recriminations from the other side. Vajpayee?s remark that he has been associated with the RSS since childhood triggered a furore. Congress and CPM MPs were immediately on their feet, and the BJP MPs shouted back. It was finally left to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to assert that Vajpayee had every right to say what he wanted.

But a slip of Vajpayee?s tongue injected some humour into the acrimony. ?Maine hamesha sansad ki garima aur maryada ka ullanghan kiya (I have always violated the dignity and decorum of the House).? He corrected the mistake, pointing out that he meant to say ?palan kiya? (honoured), not ?ullanghan kiya?. But the Opposition jumped at the slip and said Vajpayee had for the first time ?spoken the truth?.