DHAKA: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has vowed to protect all religious groups after a string of attacks on churches in Delhi.

Addressing a Christian audience in the capital, he called on all religious groups to show restraint and respect, the BBC publishes this report on Tuesday.

Since December, five churches have been attacked, but this is the first time Modi has commented on the issue.

Critics say his Hindu nationalist BJP government is not doing enough to stop Hindu zealots targeting minorities.

Modi has also been blamed for not doing enough to stop the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat when he was the state’s chief minister.

More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the violence, which were sparked by a fire on a train at Godhra in Gujarat that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims.

BDST: 1147 HRS, FEB 18, 2015