Interesting to find that outside of India, all successful Asian nations treat school lunches strictly through the lens of clinical pediatric nutrition and pediatric medicine, rather than religious or cultural re-engineering.
Shri Champat Rai’s defense that he didn’t pocket a single rupee is completely irrelevant. He holds ultimate moral responsibility for the corruption that happened on his watch.
If you excuse Rai because he didn’t personally benefit, then you can never blame Manmohan Singh for the massive scams his ministers pulled under his nose. You cannot claim the authority of the top post but disown the corruption happening right in front of you.
As head of the Trust, Rai's absolute duty was to build a foolproof system to protect every single paisa. The poorest of the poor donate their hard-earned money out of pure faith for Ram Kaaj. Letting that money slip into the pockets of subordinates is a monumental betrayal of public trust.
Hiding behind personal honesty isn't a defense. In a position of supreme trust, a total failure of oversight is just as unforgivable as the theft itself.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk about ISKCON and Akshaya Patra.
The claim that 'no one ever had issues' is simply untrue.
ISKCON's meals have been fought over for more than a decade.
In Karnataka, the Right to Food campaign and the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan formally wrote to the government in 2018 asking it to terminate the Akshaya Patra midday meal contract, arguing the organisation was imposing its religious beliefs on children.
Akshaya Patra refused to add onion and garlic despite a state directive, and threatened to pull out of its contract.
Children there complained the food was bland and ate less of it.
So here goes the tasty meal argument for a toss.
It goes further...
A 2015 CAG report found that 187 samples of ISKCON-prepared meals failed to meet prescribed standards, with negative feedback from 75% of children and teachers, and that less foodgrain was served than required.
In Andhra Pradesh, the foundation openly defied a National Institute of Nutrition directive making eggs mandatory.
And in Chandigarh, the education department found ISKCON's no-onion-no-garlic food unpalatable and did not award it the contract at all.
In Odisha, the state had to quietly arrange for schools to source and boil eggs separately just to work around the ban.
So the objection is not new and not invented for Bengal. The same fight has run in Karnataka, Andhra, Odisha, Chandigarh, for years.
But why is it louder in Bengal?
Two reasons.
First, Bengal is one of the most non-vegetarian states in India, where fish and egg are not optional extras but the core of how people eat.
Second, this is a brand new government removing an egg that was already being served.
You notice a thing more when it is taken away from you than when it was never offered. That is not propaganda. That is people defending food that was already on their children's plates.
VIDEO | Delhi: Ganga Ram Hospital dietician Aakanksha Arya explains the nutritional impact of replacing eggs with paneer and soybeans in mid-day meals.
She says, "Eggs cannot truly be replaced by any other single food. They are an excellent source of high-quality protein and also provide vitamin B12, vitamin D, essential amino acids, and healthy fats... If schools currently serve eggs once or twice a week, replacing them would require providing an equivalent amount of protein from other foods, which many children may not be be able to consume in sufficient quantities. There is also an economic concern, as many families may not be able to afford eggs at home if they are removed from school meals. Eggs play a vital role in a child's growth and development, so they should not be replaced."
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)