Eggs twice a week for students in Kolkata schools, says Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday (August 1, 2026) said eggs would be provided twice a week to schoolchildren through a separate arrangement while inaugurating an ISKCON community kitchen that will supply mid-day meals in Kolkata.

The kitchen, operated by the ISKCON Annamrita Foundation, is expected to extend its services to around 2.5 lakh students across nearly 1,800 schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) within the next three months.

“Initially, ISKCON will serve mid-day meals to 44,000 students in 500 schools in Kolkata. Within the next three months, the coverage will be expanded to 2.5 lakh students. The allocation has also been increased to ₹10 per meal per student,” Mr. Adhikari said.

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The BJP government’s decision to hand over the preparation of mid-day meals to ISKCON had drawn criticism from Opposition parties, which alleged that eggs would be removed from the menu, depriving children of an important source of protein.

On July 29, the Chief Minister then announced that eggs would continue to be provided separately through self-help groups.

Taking a swipe at the Opposition on Saturday, Mr. Adhikari said it had criticised the initiative without first seeking clarification from the government.

“Without knowing anything, they started shouting ‘eggs, eggs’,” he said.

Opposition parties, however, have claimed that the government decided to retain eggs in the scheme only after facing public pressure and the possibility of protests.

Mr. Adhikari reiterated that ISKCON follows a tradition of serving pure vegetarian food and that the State government had no intention of asking the organisation to alter its practices.

“We will provide eggs separately. The Odisha government also follows this practice. I hope the Opposition will rest now,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that the government would take decisions based on the wishes of the people rather than the demands of the Opposition.

“We will do what the people ask us to do, not what the Opposition or the media tells us to do. We already have the blessings of the people with the support of 208 MLAs,” he said.