It might not be music to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, but a member of the ruling coalition government in India says that the country's railroads are 'dirty.'

At a luncheon reception organised by the US-India Business Council along with the Federation of Indian Chambrs of Commerce and Industry for a six-member delegation of the India-US Forum of Parliamentarians at the Harvard Club in New York on Tuesday.

Robert Kharshiing, a member of the Rajya Sabha from Meghalaya and the chief whip of the Nationalist Congress Party, trashed the railroads saying his state does not want locomotives to crisscross his state because they are dirty.

"We are the only state in India to say 'no' to railways because they are dirty. We said if they bring quality railways to our state, (then it is fine); otherwise railroads should stop in Assam," Kharshiing said much to the amusement of the 100-odd guests, mostly comprising Indian-American entrepreneurs, at the club.

Kharshiing, who serves on the Rajya Sabha Standing Committee on Commerce as well as the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances, made the comment as he stressed the need for India to be quality-conscious, one of the three goals that he said India should achieve. The lawmaker did not spell out what he meant exactly by 'dirty.'

Ironically, Kharshiing's remarks came a day after British Environment J Secretary David Miliband said that railroad authorities in United Kingdom should take lessons from India as to how to clean up Britain's dirty and unsafe railways.

On a visit to India last month Miliband was 'hugely impressed' by the improvement in Indian Railways and said many of the ideas could be used to tackle the graffiti, litter and crime plaguing Britain's network, according to a report in Sunday Mirror.

Kharshiing also said that his state was also opposed to mining of uranium in Meghalaya. "We have huge deposits of uranium, but people do not want uranium," he said. The lawmaker did not say why.