Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said business over hunger will not be allowed in the country and once again demanded a law

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait said business over hunger will not be allowed in the country and once again demanded a law on minimum support price (MSP) for crops along with the repeal of new contentious agri-marketing laws.

The Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson's comments came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address in the Rajya Sabha during which he assured "MSP was there. MSP is there. MSP will remain in the future".

Rakesh Tikait

"Desh mein bhook pe vyaapaar nahi hoga. Bhook kitni lagegi anaaj ki keemat utni hogi. Desh mein bhook se vyaapaar karne walon ko baahar nikaala jaaega (There will not be business over hunger in the country. If hunger goes up, price of crops will be decided accordingly. Those wanting business over hunger will be driven out of the country)," he told reporters.

"The way rates of a flight ticket fluctuate three to four times a day, the price of crops will not be decided the same way," Tikait said.

On the PM's remark about the emergence of a "new community" which is "engaged in protests", Tikait said, "Yes, this time it is the farmers' community which has emerged and people are also supporting the farmers".

He said what the farmers protesting against the new laws have highlighted is that there is no law on MSP, because of which traders loot them by buying crops at lower prices.

PM ModiHe also slammed the attempts to divide the ongoing movement of farmers on caste and religious lines.

"This movement was first portrayed as Punjab's issue, then Sikhs' then Jats, so on and so forth. The farmers of the country are united. There is no small farmer or big farmer. The movement belongs to all farmers," he said.

Earlier in the day, Modi in his response to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in Rajya Sabha, said, "MSP was there. MSP is there. MSP will remain in the future. Affordable ration for the poor will continue. Mandis will be modernised".