Vadodara, Dec. 3 -- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has asserted that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted to use government funds to build Babri Masjid, but it was the then Home Minister Sadar Vallabhbhai Patel who opposed the idea, as he was "truly secular".

Remembering India's first Home Minister at the 'Sardar Sabha' organised in Gujarat's Vadodara, the Defence Minister said on Tuesday that Patel did not look to appease communities, unlike Nehru, who questioned the reconstruction of Somnath Temple in Gir Somnath district.

"Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was truly secular. He never believed in appeasement. When Jawaharlal Nehru spoke about spending government funds on the Babri Masjid issue, if anyone opposed it, it was one born in...