Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed Gandhinagar Archidose Archbishop Thomas Macwan’s appeal to Christians to pray to save the country from "nationalist forces" as “fatwa”.



Modi said on Sunday that "rashtrabhakti" motivated him and his government to help people of various faiths, including Christians, and dubbed as "fatwa" a letter issued by the archbishop.



"I was shocked to see a religious person releasing a 'fatwa' (diktat) saying uproot the nationalist forces. It is 'Rashtrabhakti' (nationalism) that guides us to help every Indian in any part of the world," Modi said.



The prime minister was speaking at a gathering after inaugurating a hospital on the campus of Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP).



If the archbishop has appealed against nationalist forces perceived to be inimical to the minorities, the priests of the influential Swaminarayan sect has asked devotees to vote for BJP-led state government.



Recently, the head priest of the Akshardham Temple in Ahmedabad hailed the BJP-led state government and appealed the devotees to vote for the BJP-led state government as the organisation is “forever indebted” to the incumbent state government, reported The Indian Express.



“The event was attended by about 1700 priests from across Gujarat, where Ghanshyam Maharaj hailed Rupani and said that the organisation was “forever indebted” to the BJP-led government for having stood by it for over 15 years.”

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