New Delhi,(The Telegraph): Home minister Rajnath Singh today reached out to Christians with an assurance that he would not allow any injustice to be done to the community.

"I have always been with you, I am with you and I will always be with you," he said, addressing a gathering of the community and politicians across parties at a Christmas celebration organised by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). "This message is also from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entire government," he added.

Singh said he had left a meeting of the council of ministers headed by Modi midway to attend the event. "The Prime Minister himself reminded me that it was time for me to leave for the function and insisted that I come here though the meeting was far from over. He sends you his greetings."

Referring to the attacks on churches in Delhi earlier this year, the minister said he didn't know why they had happened.

With CBCI president Baselios Cleemis earlier referring to "opposing religious identities and diversities in the articulation of faith", Singh appeared to address Hindutva forces' bid to portray Christianity as a foreign tradition. "There is a lot in common between Indian tradition and Christianity," he said.

Photo credit: The Telegraph