Without making his speech political, Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit the Congress where it hurts most, addressing one of the ruling party’s core constituents: the farmers.

Using his speech at Delhi’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), he tried to spread the message beyond Gujarat’s industrialization, saying it has also become a major agri-production state.

Taking on the mantle for farmers, Modi said, “Gujarat has never been an agricultural state. In fact, there we have a proverb: registhaan (desert) this side and Pakistan on the other side. But Gujarat has now attained 10-percent agricultural growth (not an easy task).”

He also his government has started “Krishi Mahotsav” every year. In May or June, when the mercury soars as high as mid-forties in the state, Gujarat’s officer’s go to villages to help the farmers, teaching them the latest techniques and demonstrating before them the knowhow, he said.

He also said much of what is consumed elsewhere in the country, as well as in other countries, are grown in Gujarat — milk, onion, groundnut, among others.