Are BJP governments allergic to eggs? Here's the reality with evidence
"Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao anday." Few public health campaigns in India are as memorable as the Egg Coordination Committee's (NECC) iconic jingle urging
"Sunday ho ya Monday, roz khao anday." Few public health campaigns in India are as memorable as the Egg Coordination Committee's (NECC) iconic jingle urging people to eat eggs every day. The message was simple: eggs are among the most affordable and nutrient-dense foods available. Rich in high-quality protein and almost every essential vitamin except vitamin C, eggs are often described as a superfood. There are many scientific studies that prove this. They are cheaper, easier to procure, and nutritionally superior to many common alternatives. Read Full Story Recognising their value in combating malnutrition, governments introduced eggs into school midday meal programmes across several states. But today, eggs are not being offered in all states in India. Data suggests that a majority of BJP-ruled states do not offer eggs to students under their midday meal schemes. The latest to join the list is Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government in West Bengal, which has handed over the preparation of midday meals in Kolkata schools to ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), and will reportedly no longer serve eggs in midday meals. West Bengal Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta, while presenting the BJP government's maiden budget on Monday (June 22), said that ISKCON was expected to assist in food preparation and distribution under the midday meal scheme in Kolkata. The decision to likely remove eggs from the menu has turned into a political slugfest in West Bengal, with Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders criticising the newly sworn-in government. TMC joint secretary Derek O'Brien on Wednesday alleged in a post on X that the BJP was depriving West Bengal's children of nutrition and was trying to "impose vegetarianism" in the state. "After the fish-eating tamasha during the election campaign, the Gujarat Gymkhana finally reveals itself. New BJP government at work in Bengal," O'Brien said in a post on X. "Throw eggs at rivals. But deprive children of nutrition by taking eggs off from midday meals. Imposing vegetarianism. Bengal rejects this," O'Brien added. West Bengal was among 15 states and Union Territories (UTs) that included eggs as a supplementary nutrition item under the government's midday meal programme.
Today, out of 28 states and eight UTs, eggs feature in midday meals in only 14. A closer look at the states that exclude them shows a dominance of BJP-ruled governments. ONLY FIVE BJP-RULED STATES CURRENTLY OFFER EGGS IN MIDDAY MEALS The Maharashtra government in 2025 decided to stop funding eggs in school meals. With that move, Maharashtra was effectively the latest to join the list of BJP-ruled states where eggs were either absent from the midday meal menu or provided only in a limited manner. Now, West Bengal is on the path to being added to that list. Among the states governed by the BJP, only five states, Assam, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and Maharashtra, currently have a consistent state-supported egg programme in school meals. The BJP currently has 17 chief ministers and 5 CMs of its coalition partners. Following the uproar, the BJP-ruled Maharashtra government permitted eggs to be served in midday meals, but government funding was withdrawn, and schools were asked to arrange resources on their own if they still wanted to include eggs in school meals. Most BJP-governed states, particularly in northern and western India, also do not provide eggs through the PM POSHAN scheme. The PM POSHAN scheme, formerly known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, is jointly funded by the Centre and states, generally in a 60:40 ratio. Notably, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Delhi, and Tripura also neither provide eggs, nor have any consistent statewide policy supporting them. The contrast becomes sharper when compared with non-BJP states: Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and several Union Territories continue to provide eggs through school nutrition programmes. In many of these states, eggs are viewed not as a political or social issue but as a public health intervention aimed at improving child nutrition. THREE STATES REMOVED EGGS AFTER A CHANGE IN POLITICAL PRIORITIES Previously, the saffron party, after coming to power in at least four states, tried to push for a similar policy as it's seemingly attempting to implement in West Bengal. Chhattisgarh is seemingly the most direct example of such a push.
The BriefWire