Rahul Gandhi's remark that it was "very difficult" to stop every single terror attack today sparked off angry outbursts from the Shiv Sena and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, even as the Congress found "nothing wrong" in the statement.

Gandhi stoked controversy when he said in Bhubaneswar that it is "very difficult" to stop every single terror attack but asserted that 99 per cent of the strikes in the country have been stopped due to vigilance and intelligence efforts.

"It is very difficult to stop every single terrorist attack. The idea is that we have to fight terrorism at the local level. We have improved in leaps and bounds. But terrorism is something that it is impossible to stop all the time," he said.

Reacting sharply to Gandhi, the Shiv Sena said the remark was an "insult" to Mumbai. "Rahul does not leave a single chance to insult Mumbai. When he says the terror attacks will continue to happen, it shows that he is not fit to live in India," Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

Lambasting Congress for alleged failure and inaction against terrorism, Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray said that instead of just saluting the resilient spirit of Mumbaikars, the Government should see to it that innocent people don't suffer.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati too reacted to Rahul's statement, though she did not name him.

"The statement of a Congress office bearer that it is difficult to stop every single attack is unfortunate and irresponsible," Mayawati said in Lucknow. Such statements demoralise people, she said.

Union minister and NCP leader Praful Patel, however, agreed with Rahul that it is not possible to keep a check on all such incidents due to the size of the city, but said such a situation should not become "permanent disability".

Congress later sought to defend Rahul for his remarks with party General Secretary Digvijay Singh saying India is "better than Pakistan where blasts take place every day, every week.

Even the US has to go through the 9/11 attacks."

"We are a country of 1.2 billion people. We have made progress. We have improved our intelligence network. No one can say...(everything is foolproof). We are comparatively better than Pakistan where blasts take place every day, every week," he told reporters here.

Speaking separately to reporters, party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi saw "nothing wrong" in Rahul's statement.

"What Rahul Gandhi had said is a commonsensical fact," he said adding it is a fact that terrorists can succeed once but security forces have to strive to succeed always.