Hours after she was announced as one of the recipients of the Padma Shri on Friday evening, author-publisher Gita Mehta declared she was declining the award as the “timing would be misconstrued”. Gita Mehta is the sister of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
“I am deeply honoured that the Government of India should think me worthy of a Padma Shri but with great regret I feel I must decline as there is a general election looming and the timing of the award might be misconstrued, causing embarrassment both to the Government and myself, which I would much regret (sic),” she said a statement released in New York.
The Odisha CM has also been under attack by the Opposition, particularly the Congress, whose chief Rahul Gandhi has called him a “version of Narendra Modi” in Odisha. Lok Sabha polls in the country, as well as state Assembly election in Odisha, are due this year.
Patnaik was named for the conferment of Padma Shri for her work in the field of literature. Her prominent works include ‘A River Sutra, Raj, Karma Cola, and Snakes and Ladders. Gita Mehta’s books have been translated into 26 languages, according to Penguin India.
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