KUALA LUMPUR, MAY 16 : Riding high on the successful turnaround of the Indian Railways, Lalu Prasad Yadav won more fans here with his rurally informed brand of economics. Addressing more than 400 expatriates in the Malaysian capital on Thursday, he likened the mammoth Indian Railways to a cow.

“When I took over the Indian Railways as the minister, it was just like a Jersey cow. If you don’t look after it, how can it serve you?” said Lalu, who is here on a three-day visit to witness the signing of the $1 billion contract between IRCON and the Malaysian Government. He noted that the “earning horse”— freight trains — “too had many faults.” The minister’s observations came as he talked at length about how he helped spur the Indian Railways on to the fast track, turning it into a profit-making entity.

“Earlier, we used to go out and learn from others, now people come and learn from us,” he informed the cheering audience. “I have become a professor of the world,” said the minister, who has lectured students from the IIMs, Oxford and Wharton on managerial skills.

Acknowledging that there is still a huge congestion problem in railway stations, Lalu said that “roti does not come from ‘inquilab’ (revolution), roti comes as a result of infrastructure and power in a country,” prompting thunderous applause from the audience.

Speaking in Hindi, he promised that “The Indian Railways is going to be the top railways network in the world.”