New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Friday unleashed "animal spirits" on national politics, likening the Opposition to snakes, mongoose, cats, bitches and dogs.

In the process, he also left Narendra Modi open to comparisons with calamity.

Not once but twice Shah played the zoologist while addressing a rally in Mumbai to mark the BJP's foundation day, gifting the Opposition ammunition to point out that it was no slip of the tongue but a calculated swipe.

" Yeh Modiji ki jo baadh aayi hai na baadh, iske dar se saamp, nevla, kutti, kutta, billi, sab ikattha ho kar chunav ladne ka kaam kar rahe hain (Fearing the Modi flood, the snake, mongoose, bitch, dog and cat are coming together to fight the polls)," Shah said.

While lashing out at all the Opposition parties trying to come together against the BJP, Shah's focus was on Congress president Rahul Gandhi - whom he repeatedly referred to as "Rahul Baba" - and to a lesser extent, NCP leader Sharad Pawar.

Omar Abdullah of the National Conference sought to turn the tables on Shah, tweeting: "Did the BJP President liken the Hon PM to a natural disaster?"

Asked at a media conference why he had drawn such an analogy, Shah said he was trying to bring out the contradictions within the Opposition.

"I gave the example of the snake and the mongoose because they normally are against each other and cannot work together. There's nothing much to feel offended about, but if someone is offended, then I can name the parties: SP-BSP, Congress-Trinamul, TDP-Congress. They are all combinations that have nothing in common but are coming together for fear of Modiji," he said.

The Opposition said Shah's language betrayed nervousness and desperation. "In our culture, a man and his character are known by his phraseology. The manner in which Amit Shah used abusive language, calling the entire Opposition animals and names, (suggests) a leader who has lost the battle even before it started," said Congress media-in-charge Randeep Surjewala.

Surjewala, too, referred to the "flood". "Mr Shah, Floods bring devastation & so does the Modi-Shah duo - For 'distressed farmers', 'unemployed youth', 'SC/STs' and 'small traders & businessmen'. Don't forget, fury of the floods is temporary. We'll build 'bunds' of friendship to stop it forever," he tweeted.

Trinamul's Derek O'Brien said: "Sickening language used. Of course we are political rivals, can we expect such language from the national president of the party in power? Basic courtesy? Too much to ask for?"

TDP general secretary and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's son Nara Lokesh tweeted: "Today Amit Shah compares us with dogs, cats, snakes and mongoose when we are fighting for the rights of 5crore people. They kept us in the dark for four years and today headstrong BJP calls us names. Vinashkale Vipreet Buddhi! It's time to teach them a lesson."