The Congress on Wednesday accused the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre of compromising with national security, failing on foreign policy, and ignoring defence preparedness.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Bihar in-charge C.P. Joshi led the charge by presenting a slew of figures at a news meet in Sadaquat Ashram as part of the party's strategy to send senior leaders to different cities and "make people aware about the failures of the Modi government".

#"Among the 172 terrorist attacks, 12 have been major ones and include the attack on the Pathankot air force base in Punjab, CRPF convoy at Pampore in Jammu and Kashmir, and army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir," Joshi said. "The BJP government has only been indulging in empty phrases, chest thumping and TV studio warfare."

The veteran Congress leader pointed out how the air force has fallen to a record low of 32 squadrons in the past 10 years against the minimum requirement of 45 squadrons to protect the country. Not a single Rafale aircraft has been delivered or its price has been decided so far, he added, after the NDA government cancelled the UPA's purchase of 126 such aircraft and then announced "off the shelf" purchase of 36 Rafales in 2016. He was flanked by Congress ministers Madan Mohan Jha and Abdul Jalil Mastan, MLC Dilip Kumar Chaudhary, AICC secretary and Kadwa MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan, Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee spokespersons Harkhu Jha and H.K. Verma at the meet.

Joshi said how the NDA government shelved the previous administration's approval to raise "mountain strike corps" with 90,274 soldiers at a cost of Rs 64,678 crore for deployment along the China border. "It has also reduced the defence budget in the past three years."

He also hit out at the BJP for teaming up with the PDP to form government in Jammu and Kashmir, engaging with Hurriyat Conference leaders, dealing with separatists, and touched on the number of Maoist attacks and incidents in the past three years as well as the government's foreign policy failures. "The most alarming thing is that for the first time in 70 years, India's time-tested ally Russia lifted the embargo on sale of arms to Pakistan and signed a military cooperation agreement with Pakistan," he said.

"It has also signed an agreement to sell MI-35 helicopters to Pakistan. This reveals a complete lack of vision and failure of the foreign policy under Modi's rule.

"On the foreign policy front we see that China has exponentially expanded strategic, economic, and defence partnerships with Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. It has been opposing India's entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and as a permanent member to the UN Security Council."

"China vetoed the declaration of Masood Azhar as an international terrorist, yet the BJP government continues to support trade with it, which has steadily climbed over the last three years and gone up to Rs 60,000 crore," Joshi said, adding that the Centre has done nothing to protect overseas job losses.#