Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on Chinese incursions, and slammed the Central government over its “indifference” on the issue.

“Why is our Prime Minister silent on China?” he asked on Twitter on Friday.

Simultaneously, in an article on its website, the Congress said the Modi government’s foreign policy was defined by “the Prime Minister’s search for holiday destinations and photo opportunities” instead of serving India’s interests.

“His (Modi’s) foreign policy is defined by ‘hyperbole and empty rhetoric’. He believes, falsely, that talking tough in election rallies is the same as being tough on China on the diplomatic front,” the article continued, stressing that in the UPA government’s 10-year-long rule, former PM Manmohan Singh had ensured that India balanced its relations with all major world powers. “We ensured that any transgression on the part of China was deftly handled and the UPA understood the nature of global politics and diplomacy,” the article stated.

Hitting out at Mr. Modi, the article says that China, realising that Mr. Modi was a “master bluster rather than a man of action”, had, through its government-controlled media made open threats to India and talked of teaching us a ‘bitter lesson’.