'In fact, you should chase me rather than I chasing you. There is a limit to everything.'

Reacting angrily to Azad's remark, Gujarat Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas said: 'This is the wrong language and not befitting a union minister. He is behaving like a headmaster and this is not the procedure in a federal system.'

'We all know that there is a pandemic in the country. And the state and centre must cooperate...'Bloody' is an unparliamentary word. This is not fair on his (Azad) part,' Vyas, who came out of the meeting hall after the health minister's address, told reporters.

Vyas said he asked the union health minister 'why he used such language and he replied it was not meant for all (state governments)'.

'Even if a state is performing the worst and is the biggest defaulter, why use such language...? The union health minister could have briefed us over a cup of tea.'

After the first session of the meeting, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Anup Mishra told IANS: 'The central and state governments must cooperate. The language was not right. I believe controlling the pandemic is a joint responsibility. No one can shift the blame.'

Bihar Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav added: 'Cooperation is more important than conflict. I don't know about others, but Bihar is fully geared to control the pandemic. Blame game is not a good thing.'