Calcutta High Court Steps In: State Asked to Respond on ISKCON Meal Dispute
IIE DIGITAL: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday sought an affidavit from the West Bengal government in connection with a PIL challenging the state’s reported decision to assign ISKCON the responsibility of providing mid-day meals in schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The petitioner has claimed that the move could impact the livelihood of around 2.5 lakh self-help group workers who are currently associated with preparing and supplying meals under the scheme. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay argued that handing over the responsibility to a religious organisation could affect thousands of workers dependent on the programme.
However, Advocate General Surajit Mitra representing the state government, argued before a division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty that the PIL was premature, as no official notification had been issued and the decision had not yet been implemented.
Bandyopadhyay informed the court that the announcement regarding ISKCON’s involvement had been made by the chief minister. He also argued that the mid-day meal scheme was introduced to improve attendance in government and aided schools and any major change in the system should be examined carefully.
The issue came into focus after Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced while presenting the state budget on June 22 that ISKCON would be entrusted with supplying meals to schools under the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area. One of the proposed changes reportedly includes removing non-vegetarian items from the school menu.
The petitioner also referred to remarks made by the chief minister during a press conference, where he described the move as a pilot project and praised the quality of meals provided by ISKCON. The petitioner sought a direction from the court asking for clarification regarding those remarks.
After hearing both sides, the division bench directed the state government to submit an affidavit responding to the allegations. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing after four weeks.
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