Army Engages With China On An Equal Footing, Says Defence Minister

Rajnath Singh made these remarks at an event to release a five-volume book on Deendayal Upadhyay in the presence of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the Indian Army has the capability to give a befitting reply to any power looking at the country with evil intentions and when it engages with China now, it does so on an equal footing.

Mr Singh made these remarks at an event to release a five-volume book on Deendayal Upadhyay in the presence of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

When China conducted the first nuclear test in 1964, Deendayal Upadhyay was the first one who spoke in favour of India conducting its nuclear test, Mr Singh said.

When India carried out its first nuclear tests in 1998 in Rajasthan under the leadership of then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the idea was not to use the weapon against any country but to maintain a deterrent, he said.