PM Modi said it was a "matter of concern" if some people are opposing nationalistic values.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that nationalism motivated him and his government to help people of various faiths, including Christians, and dubbed a letter issued by a Gandhinagar archbishop which urged followers to "save our country from nationalist forces" as as
"fatwa", or diktat.
The Prime Minister was referring to
the letter issued last month by Thomas Macwan, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Gandhinagar, in which he had appealed to Christians to pray to save the country from "nationalist forces", saying that "the secular and democratic fabric of our country is at stake."
"I was shocked to see a religious person releasing a
'fatwa' saying uproot the nationalist forces. It is
'Rashtrabhakti' (nationalism) that guides us to help every Indian in any part of the world," PM Modi said.
Prime Minister Modi was speaking at a gathering after inaugurating a hospital on the campus of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP).
He said it was a "matter of concern" if some people are opposing such values.
The priest had said that "democratic fabric" of the country was at stake amidst a growing "sense of insecurity" among minorities, which was viewed as a jibe at the ruling BJP.
PM Modi said his government had saved and rescued people of different faiths irrespective of their religion.
The archbishop's letter came amid the build up to the Gujarat assembly election, which will be held over two phases on December 9 and 14.
The Election Commission in Gujarat has
sent a notice to the Archbishop Thomas Macwan, for his letter.