Patna, Dec 3 (IANS): After former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, now Lok Janshakti Party Ram Vilas (LJPR) President and Jamui MP Chirag Paswan has claimed that tari is a natural drink and the ban on it should be lifted in the state.

"We cannot compare tari with liquor... it cannot be put in the same category as in liquor. Lakhs of people from the Pasi community are dependent on tari. It is a sole source of earning for them," Paswan said.

"...It is a natural juice produced from the palm tree. How it turned liquor is only Nitish Kumar and his bureaucrats would understand. Liquor manufacturing units are established in every block of the state and the officers are allowing them to operate," he added.

"Nitish Kumar is sitting in a big bungalow of Patna while the present and the future of poor people of Pasi community is in darkness. Nitish Kumar is unable to see their plight. The administration is registering FIRs and arresting them for selling tari; and when they protested against this, the state police in Patna beat them mercilessly and lodged them in jail. The police and other administrative officers of Bihar are not arresting those involved in illegal liquor trade as they are sharing the earnings and the money is going from bottom to top," Paswan said.

Earlier on November 29, thousands of people of Pasi community protested on the streets of Patna and the police had initiated lathi charge to disperse them. A day after that incident (on November 30), Manjhi slammed Nitish government and demanded tari to be removed from the category of liquor... He pointed out that "tari is a natural juice and healthy for the human body".

Amir Subhani, the state Chief Secretary defended the state government, arguing that "due to fermentation in tari, it became an inebriant drink few hours after the production".

The Pasi community has a big vote bank in Bihar and Nitish Kumar does not want to loose the confidence of this community.