The Opposition has accused the BJP government in West Bengal of imposing vegetarianism on schoolchildren by dropping eggs from the menu after it decided to involve the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in providing midday meals in Kolkata schools. ISKCON runs temples and institutions around the world and encourages strict vegetarianism.
Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced the move to give ISKCON midday meal fee in his budget speech on Monday. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari assured that the meal will be nutritious.
The new BJP government has increased the budget for each meal from $6.78 He was appointed under the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) administration of $10.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien said Bengal refuses to deprive children of nutrition by eating eggs from their midday meals and imposing vegetarianism. Citing the “fish-eating tamasha” during the election campaign, he said the “Gujarat Gymkhana” is finally revealing itself, referring to the efforts made by the BJP during the April-May elections to assure voters that there will be no restrictions on the sale of meat, eggs and fish, which are staple foods in West Bengal.
“The new BJP government is at work in Bengal. Throwing eggs at rivals. But depriving children of nutrition by removing eggs from midday meals. Imposing vegetarianism. Bengal rejects this,” he wrote on X.
BJP supporters threw eggs at TMC leaders, including Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee after the party lost power.
School Education Minister Deepak Burman said that a vegetarian diet provides adequate nutrition. “Millions of people in India and abroad follow a vegetarian diet and live healthy lives. This argument has no scientific basis.”
ISKCON (Kolkata) spokesperson Radharaman Das did not respond to calls for a response.
ISKCON provides midday meals in about 20 cities in India, and it may take some time until it can set up kitchens to do the same in Kolkata, officials said.
