In an odd turn of events on Thursday, Rahibai Popere, a Padma Shri award recipient, was abruptly asked to end her address midway through the opening session of the Women's Science Congress in Nagpur. The latter was ordered to cease her remarks as soon as she took a dig at several ministers in her speech including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rahibai Popere is popularly known as the 'seed mother' of India for her decades-long work advocating the use of indigenous seeds.
Popere, a champion of traditional farming, has created a sizable indigenous seed bank. She had spoken only for 20 minutes before she was abruptly asked to stop.
Popere began her speech at the Farmers' Science Congress by sharing her struggle-filled childhood and journey to success.
In her speech, she recalled that while receiving an award, she had told PM Modi about the dire circumstances in her Ahmednagar district village of Kombhalne, after which he had promised to visit her village.
In plainspoken Marathi, Popere said that nothing had changed in her village, where there are no roads and women are forced to walk more than three kilometres to collect water.
Popere made caustic remarks about politicians that caused the audience, who were mostly women, to roar with laughter and applause.
However, she was urged to end her lecture by Women's Science Congress leader Kalpana Pande just as she mentioned PM Modi and former revenue minister Chandrakant Patil.
Later, Nagpur University also decided not to hold Popere's scheduled media briefing. During the 108th Indian Scientific Congress, Popere served as the special guest in the opening ceremonies for both the farmers and women's science congresses.
For her views on farming and especially the usage of seeds, Popere is sought after by the academic and agricultural sciences communities.
