Congress today launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of ceasefire violations by Pakistan questioning his silence even as it wondered why the government was running with a "part- time" Defence Minister.

Taking potshots at the Prime Minister, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed said Modi during his Lok Sabha campaign had talked about 56-inch chest but "it has now been reduced to just 5.6 inches".

"It is unfortunate that civilians are being killed. But our Prime Minister is neither tweeting about it or mentioning it in his election speeches now. Why is he silent?" Ahmed asked at the AICC briefing here.

He said that there have been 19 ceasefire violations since last week by Pakistan which has claimed six civilian lives.

Ahmed drew attention to Modi's tweets on August 6, last year in which he had criticised the UPA government over Chinese incursions and ceasefire violations by Pakistan wondering "when will UPA rise".

"The famous words by him is that to deal with such situation, you need a 56-inch chest. I feel that instead of 56- inch chest, Prime Minister has 5.6 inch chest. It is being realised in so many days," he said.

Ahmed wondered if the Prime Minister was not able to find a Defence Minister from his 283 Members of Parliament.

"We all know that Arun Jaitley is a part-time Defence Minister. Could not a person, who used to talk about the country's security and respect so much before becoming the Prime Minister, find any capable Defence Minister?" he questioned.

Replying to queries, he criticised the silence of the Prime Minister on the ceasefire violation issue.