Jammu, July 24:  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said that those criticising the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru must remember not to question either his intention or integrity.

In his address at an event to commemorate the 'Kargil Vijay Diwas', he said that there are a lot of people who criticise Nehru and that "I also belong to a political party... I do not want to criticise any Prime Minister of the country".PM Narendra Modi Pays Tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on His Death Anniversary

"I also do not question the intention and integrity of any Prime Minister. There was no failure in their intention," he said, in a reference to the 1962 India-China war.

"We indeed faced defeat in 1962, but India is no longer that same nation. India is one of the strongest nations now. I don't target the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru for the 1962 debacle. I criticise the policies India adopted then," he asserted.

He said today India is self-sufficient in the field of defence.

"India speaks today and the World listens. India is no longer weak. We can criticise anyone's policies, but we cannot afford to cast a doubt on anyone's intention," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2022 09:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).