West Bengal is witnessing a political controversy after reports suggested that eggs could be replaced with alternatives such as paneer and soyabean in the mid-day meal menu served in government and aided schools.
The Opposition targeted the BJP-led government, alleging that the move would reduce nutritional intake for children. Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien also accused the government of attempting to impose vegetarianism in the state.
“After the fish-eating tamasha during the election campaign, the Gujarat Gymkhana finally reveals itself. New BJP govt at work in Bengal. Throw eggs at rivals. But deprive children of nutrition by taking eggs off mid-day meals. Imposing vegetarianism. Bengal rejects this,” he posted on X.
The controversy began after the state government decided to entrust the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) with the responsibility of serving cooked mid-day meals in schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area.
The announcement was made by state finance minister Swapan Dasgupta during his budget speech on Monday. He said the material cost for mid-day meals in primary schools would be increased to ₹10 per student from ₹6.78, and that ISKCON would be engaged to provide cooked meals in schools under the KMC area.
Currently, West Bengal schools serve eggs once a week, while on the remaining five days students are provided rice, dal, and potato curry.
The ISKCON, meanwhile, denied that any final menu has been decided. Kolkata Vice President Radharaman Das said the proposed menu being circulated online is not official.
“It has come to my notice that some people are sharing a proposed mid-day meal menu for Kolkata. However, I would like to clarify that no such menu has been finalised, and this list has not been issued by us,” he wrote on X.
At the same time, he was quoted by multiple media reports as saying that the revised menu may not include eggs. “Although our meals will not include eggs, there will be no cut in nutrition. We will compensate by serving items like paneer, rajma and soybeans along with khichdi,” he said, as quoted by The Telegraph.
The National Programme on Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE), launched in 1995 and revised in 2004, aims to provide cooked mid-day meals to children in Classes I to V in government and aided schools, with a nutritional benchmark of around 300 calories and 8–12 grams of protein per meal.
