Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted the Nehru-Gandhi family Saturday, saying farmers would not have been "ruined" had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been the country's first prime minister.
Addressing a rally here in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, he blamed the Congress-led governments of the past for the agrarian crisis.
"Generations of farmers have suffered due to the sins and wrong policies of the Congress, but now, our governments are being defamed," Modi told the gathering.
"The farmers in India would not have been ruined under the Congress's 55-year rule, had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been the country's first prime minister.
"It is true that we need some time to correct the mistakes of five-six decades. I have just got four years. Even if I get half the time they had, I will bring about a drastic change," he said.
Modi also accused the Congress of making false promises and raised questions over late prime minister Indira Gandhi's "Garibi Hatao" (remove poverty) slogan.
The prime minister's comments came in the backdrop of Congress president Rahul Gandhi accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "making false promises" to people during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
"The grandmother of 'namdaar' (Rahul Gandhi), Shrimati Indira Gandhi, was the prime minister of the country. Didn't she give the slogan to remove poverty 40 years ago?"