New Delhi : "Christmas is a festival of joy, love and friendship. During this occasion as I greet every Christian I want to thank them for their commendable services to the nation," said the Prime Minister as he commended Christians at the Parliamentarians' Christmas Get-Together Dinner 2009 at 7-B Janpath New Delhi.

"Continue the good work and togetherness, promoting brotherhood and aiding the suffering humanity," he urged the Christian community. He was presented with a Bible from Indo-International Christian Chamber of Commerce after he cut the Christmas cake.

The get-together dinner witnessed the presence of many parliamentarians, bureaucrats, journalists and several church leaders including Archbishop of Delhi Vincent Concessao, Papal Nuncio Archbishop Pedro Lopez, Rev. Richard Howell, General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India and Rev. Dr. R. Abraham, General Secretary, Pentecostal Fellowship of India.

Among noted politicians were Dr Karan Singh and Union minister for Minority and Corporate Affairs, Salman Khursheed; Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs; senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes; Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi; and vice-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and former Lok Sabha member HT Sangliana.

"I come from a state that has a Christian heritage of about 2000 years since the time of doubting Thomas", said Tharoor, who praised Christians for tremendous contributions even though being a small minority. "The spirit of Christianity has influenced many faiths. Gandhi, the father of our nation, was a very ardent believer of Bible. Much of his ideologies were impressed by Jesus," he added.

The Addressing the gathering, Sangliana, a Christian, apprised the need for love which he said was strongly preached and practised by Jesus Christ. "As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we must remember that it is this love that has brought us together. India needs this love which transformed north-eastern states 120 years back. Love is the instrument of bonding, and a strong nation can be formed by this love," said Sangliana.

A short Christmas sermon was delivered by Pastor Shekhar Kallianpur, senior pastor of New Life Fellowship Mumbai. He preached that in the midst of chaos and uncertainty, the birth of Jesus Christ can bring a message of hope and love for India.

Hundreds of copies of ‘My encounter with Truth,’ a brief biography and testimony of a former MP and Congress leader, Pandit Dharm Prakash Sharma, written by Dr Babu K Varghese were given away at the function.

The splendid function also included enchanting music by gospel singer Anil Kant and it concluded with a gala dinner sponsored by Dhanushkodi Athithan, ex-MP. Rev. Dr. Y.D. Jayaseelan served as the Mastor of Ceremony for the function.