After flying as weapons, eggs now land at centre of Bengal's mid-day meal row

WEst Bengal's young BJP regime decided this hebdomad to drop off eggs from the schooltime mid-day repast menu in Kolkata, at a time when eggs have been making headlines ever since Mamata Banerjee’s TMC rule ended after 15 years last month.Eggs have been thrown at TMC leaders across the state, and the party's deepening succession battle has become entangled with the two stories around eggs or “non-vegetarian” food in general.During the recent election campaign too, dietary habits became a major political battleground when the then CM Mamata Banerjee warned voters that the BJP would ban fish, meat, and eggs if they came to power, pointing to similar restrictions in other BJP-ruled states.Understanding the deep cultural significance of non-vegetarian food in Bengal, Union home minister Amit Shah dismissed her claims as rumours, explicitly promising that the consumption of fish and eggs would not be stopped. Senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur held a fish-eating video-op too, and other leaders stressed it was not a Hindu-Muslim issue but that of respecting local cultures.Eggs off the platePresenting the state's first budget after the BJP's win, finance minister Swapan Dasgupta announced on June 22 that the government-borne cost for primary school mid-day meals would be increased from ₹6.78 to ₹10 per student; and that Hindu spiritual organisation ISKCON, through its Annamitra Foundation, would supply cooked meals to schools in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area.Eggs, served once a week under the existing scheme, will not feature in ISKCON's vegetarian meals. ISKCON Kolkata vice-president Radharaman Das said students would get paneer (cottage cheese), rajma, soya products, pulses and milk-based items instead. He said no final menu had been approved after one began circulating online “Kindly refrain from sharing this incorrect information,” he posted on X.Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari told the assembly the change was not about religion, “Nobody is imposing anyone's religious beliefs on anyone else.” The BJP's West Bengal unit said separately on X that “if ISKCON's kitchen can deliver nutritious, quality meals, every student wins”. School education minister Dipak Burman said a well-planned vegetarian diet could meet all of a child's nutritional needs.Rebel leader and TMC on same page for onceLeader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, himself a rebel TMC leader, disagreed, arguing nutrition schemes should reflect Bengal's existing food habits.He said: “Removing eggs from the meal is not right, as it is an important source of protein. In Bengal, people traditionally eat non-vegetarian food. If these are excluded, only vegetarian food will be served, which does not suit Bengal's dietary traditions. We strongly oppose this move.”The protests: eggs as projectilesSince the BJP's win was declared on May 4, ending TMC's rule, the state has also seen a wave of post-poll violence that has included a specific trend of TMC leaders being pelted with eggs.It began on May 28, when TMC MP Saugata Roy's car was egged by a crowd outside Nimta police station in Dum Dum (North), where he had gone to file a complaint over attacks on party workers.Two days later, on May 30, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee — Mamata’s nephew and controversial heir — was hit with stones, shoes and eggs while visiting post-poll violence victims' families in Sonarpur. He had to be escorted out wearing a police helmet. Five people, reportedly linked to a rival local TMC leader, were later arrested.MLA Madan Mitra's convoy was egged in Kamarhati on June 6, though Mitra said he was not inside the vehicle at the time, and former MLA Sujoy Hazra's vehicle was similarly targeted in Midnapore amid allegations of misused funds.Another case came on June 15, when MLA Kunal Ghosh was struck on the head with an egg while speaking to reporters outside Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence. The accused, identified as Chandan, told reporters: “They deserve this.” 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 a court in Raniganj on an assault complaint. That makes it at least seven TMC leaders having been egged since the poll loss. Common thread amid a splitDerek O'Brien tied both egg-related threads together in a post on X reacting to the mid-day meal news. Referring to the attacks on his colleagues, he wrote: "Throw eggs at rivals. But deprive children of nutrition by taking eggs off meals.”This comes after a split inside the TMC, with 64 of the original TMC's 80 MLAs breaking away from Mamata Banerjee's party to rally behind Ritabrata Banerjee, who has been recognised as Leader of Opposition in the assembly. Separately in the Lok Sabha, 20 TMC have announced that they had merged with the little-known, Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), TMC's Saugata Roy called the move “the desperation of the traitors to please their BJP masters”. A court battle is set to follow.