Patna, Feb. 9: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis touched a raw nerve in Bihar when he said that the Shiv Sena had brought Mumbai on a par with Patna.

Fadnavis' comment yesterday was not directed at his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, who happens to be visiting Maharashtra. He was attacking the Shiv Sena, the BJP's ally in the state, now contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections separately.

Addressing a public rally in eastern Mumbai, Fadnavis said the Shiv Sena's rule in the BMC had brought Mumbai on a par with Patna. He pointed at Chapter 14 of the 2016-17 Economic Survey tabled in Parliament last month, to show Mumbai and Patna were ranked last on transparency and accountability in civic bodies.

But his observation left the RJD and JDU enraged in Bihar.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his two minister sons, Tejashwi and Tej Pratap, launched a vitriolic attack on Fadnavis over Twitter and sought an apology. "Read some history before making shallow comments about Patna and Bihar, Fadnavis ji" was the rough translation of Tejashwi's tweet in Hindi. Tej Pratap was more terse, calling Fadnavis a "caged parrot" of the RSS who didn't know politics.

Lalu, who was in New Delhi, linked the observation with Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh to say "Sangh" people were still angry at their defeat in Bihar and would go mad after "losing" Uttar Pradesh.

"The comparison shows Fadnavis' disdain and contempt for Patna," RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha told The Telegraph. "It is absolutely disgusting and nauseating to see people in public life so brazenly insult the heritage and historical memory related to Patna and Bihar. I would urge the Prime Minister to seriously consider replacing Mr. Fadnavis as chief minister as he has become an embarrassing liability."

JDU general secretary Shyam Rajak said his party strongly condemns Fadnavis' statement and his disdain for Patna reflects how the BJP feels about the state. Patna mayor Afzal Imam said instead of taking steps to ameliorate Bihar's economic condition, the BJP was busy vilifying Patna.

Senior BJP leader and Patna Sahib MP Shatrughan Sinha, known to defend Bihar, appeared a bit soft when reached for a reaction. "Devendra Fadnavis is a nice human being and I have love and affection for him. It might be a slip of tongue," he said, adding no one should show Bihar or Patna in poor light.

BJP spokesperson and Bihar resident Shahnawaz Hussain said Fadnavis was talking about functioning of civic bodies and not about Patna per se.

"The BJP has never backed the Shiv Sena's attempts to spread hatred against Biharis in Maharashtra. Fadnavis always takes care of people from Bihar who work in large numbers in Maharashtra," Hussain saidby phone.