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How eggs sparked a row in West Bengal
West Bengal's freshly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government plans to engage the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) — a global Hindu organization also known as the Hare Krishna movement — to provide cooked midday meals in schools that come under the purview of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
The decision was announced as West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta presented BJP's maiden budget for the state on Monday.
The move has led to a political firestorm as reports say that the new school dinner could be purely vegetarian. Eggs, which have long been a vital source of affordable nutrition in government school meal programs across India, could be off the menu.
Eggs were provided one to two days a week in the state's school meal plan and are now expected to be swapped with vegetarian items such as paneer, rajma and soy-based foods, Kolkata-based daily, The Telegraph, reported.
Some opposition critics also see the decision as an attempt by Prime Minister Narenra Modi's BJP to alter the food habits in West Bengal, whose culinary tradition consists of a non-vegetarian diet.
And the controversy has reached the Rajya Sabha, lower house of the national parliament.
"Throw eggs at rivals. But DEPRIVE CHILDREN of nutrition by taking eggs off from midday meals. Imposing vegetarianism. Bengal rejects this." said All India Trinamool Congress' MP Derek O'Brien, in a post on X.
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 from midday meals. Imposing vegetarianism. Bengal rejects this
— Derek O'Brien (@derekobrienmp) June 24, 2026
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has called the change in school menu a "nutritional and hygiene-focused reform."
"We are giving the responsibility of cooking midday meals to ISKCON. If you have an objection, do not say 'Hare Krishna' – no one will force you. You will get good food to eat. You will get pure food, nothing to worry about," Indian media quoted Adhikari as saying.
The midday meal scheme was launched in 1995 for India's government schools and has since been providing a mandatory, free school lunch to improve the nutritional levels among students.
