Chirag Paswan answers Bihar youth's job question at 'Youth Bole Toh'
Synopsis
At the 'Youth Bole Toh' forum, a young attendee challenged Union Minister Chirag Paswan to justify his 'Bihar First, Bihari First' slogan with real ministry outcomes. Paswan posted the exchange and his answer on X, spotlighting food processing as Bihar's employment lever.
Key Takeaways
Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan was publicly questioned at the 'Youth Bole Toh' forum about what his ministry has delivered for Bihar's youth and employment.
The question challenged Paswan's signature political slogan 'Bihar First, Bihari First' , the ideological anchor of his Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) .
Paswan shared the exchange on X on 26 September 2026 , posting a video of his response.
The PMFME scheme (2020) is the ministry's primary vehicle for formalising micro food enterprises and creating rural employment in agrarian states like Bihar.
The setting — an unscripted Gen Z forum — underscores growing demand from young voters for measurable, state-specific policy delivery from central ministers.
A young audience member at the 'Youth Bole Toh' forum put Union Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on the spot on Saturday, 26 September 2026: if you champion 'Bihar First, Bihari First' — Bihar first, Bihari first — what exactly has your ministry done for Bihar's youth and employment? Paswan shared his answer directly on X.
Posting the exchange with the hashtags #YouthBoleToh, #BiharYouth, and #GenZPower, Paswan framed the moment as accountability in action — a Gen Z questioner holding a sitting Union Minister to his own regional slogan.The slogan Bihar politicians live and die by
'Bihar First, Bihari First' is more than a campaign line — it is the ideological anchor of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), the party Paswan leads as national president. In Bihar's intensely competitive political landscape, every central ministry portfolio a Bihar-based leader holds is measured, loudly and constantly, against what it delivers back home.
Paswan's stewardship of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is no exception. Bihar, with its vast agrarian base, enormous youth population, and persistent out-migration for work, is precisely the kind of state that food processing policy is designed to transform — on paper, at least. The question from the floor was really asking: has the design become delivery?
How PMFME fits Bihar's employment puzzle
The ministry's flagship employment vehicle is the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, launched in 2020. It targets micro-enterprises — the kind run by smallholder farmers, women's self-help groups, and first-generation entrepreneurs in states like Bihar — providing credit-linked subsidies, branding support, and capacity building to bring them into the formal economy.
For Bihar, where agriculture employs a disproportionately large share of the workforce, the theory is straightforward: formalise and scale the food-processing units already scattered across the state, reduce the post-harvest losses that bleed farmer income, and create jobs close enough to home that young Biharis do not have to leave. Whether the scheme's on-ground numbers match that ambition is precisely the kind of follow-through the youth forum was pressing Paswan to demonstrate.
Why a Gen Z forum changes the political calculus
What made this exchange notable was the setting. Youth forums like 'Youth Bole Toh' are not friendly press conferences — they are unscripted, and the questions carry the impatience of a generation that grew up fact-checking in real time. A minister choosing to post this particular question, rather than a softer one, signals confidence in the answer — or at least in the optics of engaging it head-on.
For Paswan, who has built his brand around being the young face of Bihar's political establishment, the moment serves a dual purpose: it reinforces his accessibility narrative and puts his ministry's Bihar record in front of the state's most politically active demographic ahead of the electoral cycles that never really pause in India's most populous Hindi-belt states.
The answer, Paswan told his followers, is in the video. Bihar's youth — and Bihar's voters — are watching.
Point of View
Digitally engaged youth base can frame it as evasion. For the LJP (Ram Vilas), whose survival depends on Bihar-centric identity politics, the 'Bihar First' slogan is a double-edged sword — it energises the base but creates a measurable standard against which every ministry portfolio is judged. Food processing, as a sector, is an intelligent choice of terrain: it sits at the intersection of agrarian livelihoods, rural employment, and formalisation — all live nerves in Bihar. How well Paswan can translate PMFME numbers into voter-legible stories of local transformation will define whether the slogan remains an asset or becomes a liability.
NationPress
26 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 'Youth Bole Toh' forum where Chirag Paswan was questioned?
'Youth Bole Toh' is a youth engagement forum where young participants can directly question public figures including ministers and politicians on policy issues.
What did Bihar youth ask Chirag Paswan at the forum?
A young attendee asked Paswan what his Ministry of Food Processing Industries has specifically contributed to Bihar's youth and employment, given his 'Bihar First, Bihari First' slogan.
What is the PMFME scheme and how does it help Bihar?
The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, launched in 2020, supports micro food enterprises through credit-linked subsidies and capacity building — targeting agrarian states like Bihar to reduce post-harvest losses and generate local employment.
What does 'Bihar First, Bihari First' mean?
'Bihar First, Bihari First' is the political slogan of Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), pledging that Bihar's interests and its people's welfare will be the first priority in every governance decision.
Why did Chirag Paswan post this exchange on X?
By sharing the video of the tough question and his answer on X, Paswan signalled transparency and confidence in his ministry's Bihar record, seeking to reinforce his image as an accessible, accountable leader among young voters.
