Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu announcing his budget proposals
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today amused parliamentarians by liberally punning on his own name during his speech.
"Our priority is to improve the capacity in the high density section. But I thought, hey Prabhu (oh god), how will it happen," he said, drawing laughs in the Lok Sabha.
"Prabhu (God) didn't answer, so this Prabhu thought, why can't we do something?"
Mr Prabhu, who is known for his love of poetry, also used a long Hindi phrase to explain the agenda of his railway budget: "Kuch naya jodna hoga, kuch purana todna hoga, kuch engine badalne honge, kuch repair karne honge (have to add something new, break something old, change some engines and tune some engines)"
Announcing his first Railway Budget, Mr Prabhu today said there would be no hike in passenger fares.
His speech was peppered with humorous asides.
At one point he said that in trains, stairs to the upper berth would be improved and the middle bay in coaches would be "reserved for women and old people like me."
He also announced a high speed corridor between Delhi and Kolkata "so that my friends from West Bengal can travel faster." Members erupted in laughter, and not just those from Bengal.
After the speech, critics used his own joke on him. "Its all prabhu ki maya (god's illusion)," quipped former railway minister Dinesh Trivedie of the Trinamool Congress.