Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the Christian community of protection in the country and added that India has always welcomed all religions with open arms.
Singh, who was addressing the gathering at the Christmas celebrations under the auspices of the Catholics Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), said that the nation will remain an inclusive and accommodative society.
The Union Home Minister said the attacks on Churches in Delhi and elsewhere in the recent past were an aberration and he wondered why these series of attacks happened only around the election time.
Conveying the greeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Singh said that the NDA government always stood by the side of the Christians in the country.
Singh further went on to ask community leaders to contact him directly if they faced any injustice in the country.
Christianity arrived in India almost the same time when it spread to Europe, he said.