India News | Toddy 'natural Product', Must Not Be Categorised as Liquor: Chirag Paswan

Patna, Apr 28 (PTI) Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on Monday said toddy is a "natural product" and must not categorised as liquor, which is banned in the state.

Paswan, who leads the LJP (Ram Vilas), was reacting to Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav's promise to exempt toddy-tapping from the prohibition law if his RJD came to power in the state in the assembly elections later this year.

Also Read | Delhi Shocker: 24-Year-Old Woman From Jammu and Kashmir Allegedly Molested Outside Jamia Millia Islamia University Gate 8.

"I have said many times that as an NDA partner, my party may be supporting the government in the state, but it is not part of the regime here. I certainly believe that toddy, a natural product, must not be considered liquor," he told reporters.

The Paswan community is traditionally known to dominate the toddy business in the state.

Also Read | Padma Bhushan Awards 2025: Shekhar Kapur, Arijit Singh, Pankaj Udhas Conferred With Honours by President Droupadi Murmu (See Pics and Videos).

Addressing a convention of the Pasis in Patna on Sunday, Yadav said the prohibition law has affected the community whose only source of livelihood was toddy-tapping.

Promising to remove the ban on toddy, Yadav said the Pasi community has been doing this job for generations, and they have no other skills or agricultural land to earn a livelihood.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)