In a bid to reach out to the Christian-majority Meghalaya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Feb. 22 said his government had rescued many Christian missionaries and religious minority workers from terrorists occupied conflict zones.
He pointed out the BJP's help to rescue 46 nurses from Kerala when they were abducted by terrorists in Iraq.
"I want to tell the people of Meghalaya that my government mobilized all its resources to free 46 Kerala nurses, mostly Christians, from IS captivity in Iraq last year," said Modi, while addressing a rally at Phulbari in West Garo Hills district.
"When Father Alexis Prem Kumar was abducted by Taliban in 2015, we rescued and united him with his family members. At one point, his family had lost all hope but we didn't. It was a great moment of joy when we brought him back alive," he added, according to TOI.
He also mentioned his government's help extended to Fr Tom to get him safely back from Yemen.
Modi tried to woo the voters in Meghalaya and said the north-eastern state was not safe in the hands of the Congress.
His address came a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Modi over burning of churches and attacks on Christians in Madhya Pradesh.
"Those who are trying to spread the poison of communal hatred should know that our mantra is inclusive development," said Modi.
He urged the voters to give BJP a chance to "serve the state" and assured them that the party had the single agenda of development.
"We approved construction of 21,000 houses in Meghalaya and provided Rs 100 crore to the state. But they were unable to build the required number of houses," he said.
