Patna, Oct. 19: Political leaders in Bihar, cutting across party lines, took umbrage at the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) attack on centres conducting railway recruitment examinations in suburban Mumbai today.

A week ago, a delegation of candidates from Bihar and other parts of the Hindi heartland had met Lalu Prasad demanding that those who had received orders to sit for tests in Maharashtra be granted centres in other states.

The examinees were reportedly apprehending that the MNS cadre led by party chief Raj Thackeray would attack them. Their apprehension was based on the recent attacks on Bihar and UP citizens by MNS activists in Maharashtra.

Worried by the attacks, chief minister Nitish Kumar spoke to his Maharashtra counterpart, Vilas Rao Deshmukh, requesting him to ensure the “safety” of Bihar’s students. On Nitish’s directive, state principal secretary (home) Afjal Amanullah spoke with the Maharashtra chief and home secretaries asking them to “book the hoodlums”.

Today, the ruling JD(U) burnt the effigy of Raj Thackeray on the road in front of Patna University, while the Opposition RJD did the same at Kargil Roundabout near the Gandhi Maidan here.