New Delhi, May 4 (IANS): A top Church body representing more than 13 million people across the country has appealed to all political parties to elect a Christian as the next president of India.

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) argued that despite Christians being the second largest minority in India, there has been no president from the community in the country till date whereas other minorities like Sikhs and Muslims have had presidents from their respective communities.

"The Christian community has been ignored so far, perhaps unintentionally. We want to appeal to all the political parties to rectify this deficit by electing a Christian as India's next President," an NCCI statement stated Friday.

"We want to underline here that the quality of India's governance process and our country's global standing among the comity of nations will increase manifold through this noble gesture," it added.

The statement further said that the Christian community was on the verge of a deep collective alienation, which remained unarticulated and that the emerging negative trend needed to be nipped in the bud.

"It is high time that our beloved country formally acknowledges both the historical and contemporary contributions of the Christian community by electing a president who belongs to that community," said the statement.

The NCCI is the united expression of the Protestant and Orthodox churches in India, and represents over 13 million Christians in the country.