No politics behind church attacks, just bad law and order: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: The government has denied that "communal" politics were behind a series of attacks on churches and the rape of a nun in recent months, as it seeks to quell rising concerns among religious minorities.

"We have found that all these incidents were law and order problems. Not a single case was carried out by the majority community... nor was it of political nature or communal," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told a news channel late on Tuesday.

Since December, half a dozen churches have been vandalised, during a period when hardline Hindu groups have campaigned to convert members of "foreign religions" such as Islam and Christianity to Hinduism.

Four Bangladeshi citizens were arrested by local police in West Bengal in connection with the rape of the nun and robbery at a convent last month.

Read: Church attacked in Haryana, cross replaced by Hanuman idol

Jaitley's comments come after Christian leaders accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Modi's government of not doing enough to protect their religion.

Several Christians and Muslim organisations have launched protests against what they see as a growing climate of hatred and distrust against Indians who are not Hindu.

In France last week, Modi reiterated his commitment to religious tolerance.

Some of his political allies are less open-minded. Last week, members of a regional political party that is part of Modi's coalition government demanded that voting rights of Muslims should be scrapped.

Read: PM Modi 'deeply concerned' about nun's gangrape and church attack, seeks immediate report

Jaitley rejected the divisive idea floated by the regional ally, Shiv Sena. "Such statements are extremely offensive and these irresponsible remarks hurt the government's real agenda," of economic development, he said.

Muslims make up India's largest minority, about 14 percent of the 1.27 billion population.