Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has stated the obvious. Muslims are not the only ones who produce in large numbers. Hindus also do so.

Prime Minister Modi and his spin doctors have been hoodwinking the nation by shouting from the rooftops and the Red Fort that India is on the threshold of becoming the third-largest economy in the world. Fudged data is used to create a veneer of prosperity. But on ground zero, we remain a country of poor people. And our investment, more than anything material, remained our children for a long time. Human resources were vital in those days, as are now. The more, the better was the motto of those days. Whether Hindu or Muslim, large families happened in the past because there were people in the households to look after the children, and mothers were mainly housemakers.

Things have changed with family planning and the disintegration of joint families. This was the case, at least in South India, where I hail from, irrespective of Hindu or Muslim. Things were not so different in North India either. It is absurd to say that Muslims produce more with the sole motto of increasing their numbers in this country. Even if the 200 million Muslims try their best, will they be able to overtake the Hindu population?

Still, our Prime Minister shamelessly goes from one rally to another, proclaiming that the opposition, Congress, is out to appease the Muslim community. In this country, political parties of all hues have used different communities for their own political gains. BJP is no different. Isn't the BJP singling out Pasmanda Muslims to curry favour? The Hindutva party is still using the age-old method of divide and rule. It is not confined to the Mughals and the British.

In 2014 and 2019, Muslim bashing may have fetched votes for Modi. But the argument is jaded. It is not going to hold much longer. The same is the case with Ayodhya and Ram temple. Modi and Shah must now regret that they had rushed through the consecration before the general election. Had they dangled the carrot for some more time in front of gullible Hindus, especially in North India, it may have fetched them some precious votes. Alas, it is not to be so. The novelty has vanished in thin air.

Hence, Modi's rhetoric on Muslims and Congress plots to snatch mangalsutras. What more despicable levels can an elected Prime Minister take the country's political discourse to? With Modi, it looks like a bottomless pit of hatred.

For quite some time, it seemed that the opposition was even afraid to utter the word Muslim. Kharge has dared to utter the unutterable. "The poor who don't have money have children. Why do you target only Muslims? Muslims are in their country ... they are Indians," Kharge has said. This acknowledgement was long overdue. Yes, India belongs to Muslims too. It is bound to resonate across the country and will hopefully reflect on June 4.