Rabri Devi, former Bihar chief minister and wife of jailed RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, on Wednesday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "jallad" (executioner) and a person with a "khoonkhar maansikta (vicious mindset)".

The former chief minister made the acerbic remarks while referring to a comment by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had compared the prime minister to Duryodhana -- the antagonist of the epic Mahabharata.

"Priyanka did the wrong thing by calling him Duryodhana. She should have spoken a language different in tone and tenor, the RJD leader said.

Her remarks drew sharp criticism from the ruling NDA. Senior BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi deplored her remarks, calling it a mark of "panic" within the Opposition which, he claimed, was facing an imminent defeat in the polls.

"Rahul Gandhi is calling Modi a rioter, Priyanka is comparing him to Duryodhana, Mamata Banerjee is speaking of a tight slap.... Rabri Devi's remarks are part of the same series," Sushil Modi said here in a statement. "The Opposition is jittery as it has sensed the mood of the public in the four phases of general elections. The message has been loud and clear the people want Modi once again."

JDU MLC Neeraj Kumar, also condemned Devi for her comments and tweeted: "Failed to educate two sons properly and the Mahabharata between them is out in the open. The foul language stems from frustration. It would be interesting to see reactions after May 23 when the election results are out.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)