India's eastern state of West Bengal has announced that eggs will be replaced with vegetarian alternatives in government school lunches in Kolkata (the state capital), after the newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party government handed meal preparation to Iskcon — the Hindu organisation widely known as the Hare Krishna movement — whose food charity serves only vegetarian food. The move has drawn sharp criticism from nutrition experts and opposition politicians, who argue that eggs, costing roughly eight rupees (about $0.08) each, are among the cheapest and most complete sources of protein available to underprivileged children for whom the free school meal is often the most nutritious food of their day. The controversy has reignited a long-running national debate over whether religious or ideological considerations are being allowed to override nutrition policy in India's midday meal programme, which feeds more than 110 million children across the country.