Responding to the concerns raised by the church leaders in the Garo Hills in Meghalaya over social media posts about BJP's bigotry, union tourism minister K. J. Alphons said there has been no attack on Christians or churches in India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
As Meghalaya is going to the polls early next year, Alphons, who is also the BJP's election in charge for the state, has been making several visits to the churches and speaking about the "inclusive" nature of BJP governance.
"There was some apprehension and fear about what was appearing on the social media. I clarified the issues with them because 99% of social media news is fake. When BJP came to power in 2014, there was an apprehension that churches would be burnt and Christians would be beaten to death," said Alphons, according to Times of India.
"There has not been even one instance when a church was burnt or Christians attacked anywhere in the country after Modi came to power," he added.
Alphons called on the Bishop of Tura, Rev. Andrew R Marak, at the Bishop House and later interacted with church leaders from the Garo Baptist Convention and the Church of North India at the circuit house.
Pointing to the government's efforts in securing abducted priest Fr Tom from Yemen, ensuring safety of Fr Prem Kumar in Afghanistan, and Sr D'Souza and others from Libya and Iraq, Alphons said BJP government is inclusive in nature.
He also said that he was a practicing Christian and despite not being an MP he was made a minister in the Modi's cabinet.
