New Delhi, Aug 21 - Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Friday hit out at 'bloody' state governments for not doing enough to contain the spread of the H1N1 virus, causing incensed state ministers to castigate him for his 'unparliamentary language'.

'Bloody, hum yahan par 20-24 ghante kaam karte hai aur aap aish karte ho (Bloody, we are working 20 to 24 hours. And you people are enjoying yourselves),' Azad said at a meeting of state health ministers here.

Stunned silence followed the outburst, but Azad was unfazed and continued to scold the gathering.

'You must wake up. Hum teen mahiney se aap ko jhel rahe hai (For the past three months, we are tolerating you people),' said the health minister after completing his written speech.

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

When told that his language had angered some minister, Azad said: 'It is between us.'

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.

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.