In West Bengal, the humble egg has turned into a political flashpoint. At the heart of the debate is one simple question, will schoolchildren still get the boiled egg served in their mid-day meal. The controversy flared after Suvendu Adhikari's government decided to award the state's mid-day meal contract to ISKCON.
The catch lies in how ISKCON cooks. Its kitchens use no eggs at all, and not even garlic or onion. That is exactly why opposition parties have begun to corner the government, asking whether the boiled egg will now disappear from children's plates.
Kunal Ghosh raises the question of children's health
Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh weighed in on the issue. He made it clear that he has no problem with ISKCON itself, his real worry is the health of the children. His argument was straightforward, if there is no egg in the mid-day meal, where exactly will the children get their nutrition from.
ISKCON responds, protein is not only in eggs
ISKCON also offered its side of the story. Spokesperson Radharaman Das said the egg is not the only source of protein. Pulses and paneer are also rich in it. He explained that ISKCON already serves such nutritious items to children in the mid-day meal, so those protesting need not worry about the children's nutrition.
Naushad Siddiqui argues the move hurts the poor
Naushad Siddiqui of the Indian Secular Front also questioned the decision. He said paneer is expensive, and simply handing a child a single piece of it will not do the job. Siddiqui added that Muslims generally eat non-vegetarian food. According to him, many poor families send their children to school precisely because an egg is served in the mid-day meal. He called the decision unfair to the poor.
The egg debate is nothing new
This kind of argument over eggs has played out many times before. On one side, those who eat eggs point to the protein they contain, while those who avoid eggs point to other vegetarian sources of protein. Doctors too accept that eggs carry protein and come cheap. But when the food is cooked in an ISKCON kitchen, there can be no egg in it. The real challenge now rests with ISKCON, to prove that it can give children a wholesome, balanced diet even without the egg.
