Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday (December 25) addressed the members of the Christian community on Christmas and extended greetings on the occasion.
"My greetings to the people of the world and to the Christian community on the occasion of Christmas... It is pleasant for me that on such a special and sacred day, all of you have come to my residence..." he said.
PM recalls meeting with Pope
PM Modi said that he shares an “old and close” bond with the Christian community, and recalled his meeting with Holy Pope in October 2021 in the Vatican City.
“I share a very old and close bond with the Christian community. While holding the post of Chief Minister of Gujarat, I used to frequently meet the Christian community and its leaders. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet the Holy Pope. It was indeed a very memorable moment for me. To make the world a better place, we discussed issues like social harmony, global brotherhood, climate change and inclusive development..." he said.
The Prime Minister highlighted the value of Christmas and said that it is an opportunity to remember the values of Jesus Christ.
"Christmas is the day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ; this is also an opportunity to remember the life messages and values of Jesus Christ. As a government, we are ensuring that the benefits of development reach everyone and no one is left untouched. Today, the benefits of the development taking place in the country are reaching the people of the Christian community, especially the poor and the deprived," the Prime Minister said.
Bharat recognises contributions of Christian community: PM
He stressed that the country recognises the "great contributions" of the Christian community for the nation.
"On this auspicious occasion of the Christmas Day, I would like to state that Bharat proudly recognises the great contributions made by the Christian community in the country," he said.
Mentioning that there is a tradition of exchanging gifts on the occasion of Christmas, the Prime Minister asked people to ponder how a better planet could be gifted to the future generations.
"There is a tradition of giving gifts on Christmas. Therefore, let us take this opportunity to consider how we can gift a better planet to the coming generations," he said.
(With ANI inputs)
