New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday criticised the policies of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru saying that China had captured areas in Ladakh in 1962 during his tenure. “I will not question his intentions. Intentions can be good but the same does not apply to policies,” the Defence Minister said, quoted news agency ANI.
“However, today's India is one of the most powerful countries in the world,” he added.
Speaking in Jammu to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas, Singh paid tributes to the soldiers who lost their lives in the line of duty during the 1999 war.
“Will remember those who laid their lives in service to the country. Our Army has always made this supreme sacrifice for the country. Several of our brave soldiers laid their lives in the 1999 war, I bow down to them,” the Union Minister said.
Singh also met with the families of security personnel who had lost their lives in the operation.
23rd Kargil Vijay Diwas is being observed at Kargil War Memorial in Ladakh’s Drass where several serving and retired army personnel, Kargil War veterans and next of kin of fallen heroes are expected to take part in the event.
Every year on July 26, Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed to commemorate the Kargil War which was fought between May 8 1999 and July 26, 1999 against Pakistani intruders who transgressed into Indian territory in the winters of 1998 and occupied fortified defences overlooking the NH 1A in Kargil's Drass and Batalik Sectors of Ladakh region with a nefarious aim of dominating all military and civil movement on the highway.