New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS): The Congress Tuesday said the attack on a Hindu temple in Washington state was a "slur" on the name of US and expressed surprise that the Indian government had not reacted to the matter.

"I am surprised that the United States president has not reacted to this and am also surprised that the Indian government has not reacted," Congress leader P.C. Chacko told IANS.

"It is a slur on the name of America," he said adding: "It is very shocking. US is a society which claims to be inclusive. They would have surely reacted if something like this had happened in India."

"What happened is totally unacceptable, US authorities must take stringent action in the temple vandalizing incident and come out with a statement," he said.

A temple in Washington was vandalized on the eve of its planned celebration of Maha Shivaratri.

When members of the Hindu Temple Cultural Center in Bothell, 36 km from Seattle, went there on Sunday they found a swastika painted on it and "Get Out" scrawled in large letters with spray paint.