The new BJP regime in West Bengal this week decided to drop eggs from the menu of school midday meals in Kolkata, at a time when eggs have been making headlines since Mamata Banerjee’s rule ended after 15 years last month.
It was eggs It was pitched to TMC leaders across the state, and the deepening succession battle in the party became entangled with the two stories about white people or “non-vegetarian” food in general.
During the last election campaign too, food habits became a major political battleground when then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee warned voters that the BJP They will ban fish, meat and eggs if they come to power, citing similar restrictions in other BJP-ruled states.
Realizing the deep cultural importance of non-vegetarian food in Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah dismissed the claims as rumours, and explicitly promised that the consumption of fish and eggs would not stop. Senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur also made a video eating fish, and other leaders stressed that it is not a Hindu-Muslim issue, but an issue of respect for local cultures.
Eggs off the plate
Presenting the state’s first budget after the BJP’s victory, Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced on June 22 that the cost to the government for mid-day meals in primary schools would increase by $6.78 L $10 per student; And that the Hindu spiritual organization ISKCON, through its Annamitra Foundation, will provide cooked meals to schools in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area.
Eggs, which are served once a week under the current scheme, will not feature in ISKCON’s vegetarian meals. Students will get paneer (cheese), rajma, soy products, pulses and milk-based items instead, ISKCON Kolkata Vice President Radharman Das said. He said the final list had not been approved after it began circulating online, writing on X’s website: “Please refrain from sharing this incorrect information.”
Prime Minister Suvendu Adhikari told the assembly that the change was not about religion: “No one is imposing anyone’s religious beliefs on anyone else.” The BJP’s West Bengal unit separately said on Channel School Education Minister Deepak Burman said that a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet all the nutritional needs of a child.
The rebel leader and TMC are on the same page for once
Opposition leader Ritabrata Banerjee, himself a rebel leader in the TMC, disagreed, saying nutrition plans should reflect current eating habits in Bengal.
“Removing eggs from the meal is not right, as they are an important source of protein. In Bengal, people traditionally eat non-vegetarian foods. If they are excluded, only vegetarian food will be served, which does not fit with the food traditions of Bengal. We strongly oppose this move,” he said.
Protests: Eggs as projectiles
Since the BJP was declared the winner on May 4, ending TMC rule, the state has also witnessed a spate of post-election violence which included a specific trend of pelting TMC leaders with eggs.
It started on May 28, when TMC MP Saujata Roy’s car was pelted with eggs by a mob outside Nimta police station in Dum Dum (North), where he had gone to lodge a complaint about attacks on party workers.
Two days later, on May 30, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee — Mamata’s nephew and controversial heir apparent — was beaten with stones, shoes and eggs while visiting families of victims of post-election violence in Sonarpur. He had to be escorted out while wearing a police helmet. Five people, reportedly linked to a local leader rival to the TMC, were later arrested.
Eggs were thrown at MLA Madan Mitra’s convoy in Kamarhati on June 6, though Mitra said he was not inside the vehicle at the time, and former MLA Sujoy Hazra’s car was similarly targeted in Midnapore amid allegations of misuse of funds.
Another case occurred on June 15, when Kunal Ghosh was hit on the head with an egg while speaking to reporters outside Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kalighat. “They deserve it,” the accused, identified as Chandan, told reporters. Ghosh filed a complaint that night. Two men, Chandan Koyal and Rabi Koyal, were arrested the next day.
On June 16, TMC youth leader Soumitra Banerjee was pelted with eggs while being escorted to court in Raniganj on an assault complaint. This makes at least seven TMC leaders have been whitewashed since losing the election.
A common thread amid the division
Derek O’Brien tied the two egg-related threads together in a post on X responding to the midday meal news. Referring to attacks on teammates, he wrote: “Throw eggs at competitors. But deprive children of nutrition by removing eggs from meals.”
This comes after a split within the TMC, with 64 of the original 80 TMC MLAs breaking away from Mamata Banerjee’s party to rally behind Ritabrata Banerjee, who has been recognized as the leader of the opposition in the assembly. Separately in the Lok Sabha, 20 TMC announced that they had merged with the little-known Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), with TMC’s Sujata Roy describing the move as “the desperation of traitors to please their BJP masters”. A legal battle is set to follow.
