Panaji, Sep 19 (IANS): Has Prime Minister Narendra Modi realised the worth of Indian Muslims only after the bashing the BJP took in the recently concluded by-polls, Urfan Mulla, a Congress spokesperson and the head of the state Urdu Academy asked Friday.

"Modi has realised this now, what Indian Muslims are about, after the drubbing received by the party in by-polls," Mulla said, on a day when Modi in an interview to CNN, said that Indian Muslims will not pander to the Al Qaeda and that "Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India - they will not want anything bad for India".

The BJP, which swept to an unprecedented victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, capturing 282 seats in the Lok Sabha, did not fare well in the recent by-polls.

Mulla also said that Modi should also educate his MLAs and MPs about Indian Muslims, claiming there had been a sustained campaign by some elected leaders of the saffron party against the minority community.

"As an Indian Muslim, I welcome the prime minister's comment," Mulla added.