Odisha News Insight

Eminent Writer Gita Mehta declines Padma Shri Award

ONI Bureau: Eminent Writer and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik’s sister Gita Mehta declines the Padma Shri Award conferred to her by the Government of India yesterday.

In a press statement issued from New York, Mehta said, “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.”

Gita Mehta was selected for the coveted award in the literature and education category.

Daughter of late Biju Patnaik, Gita Mehta has authored books like Karma Cola (1979), Raj (1989), A River Sutra (1993), Snakes and Ladders: Glimpses of Modern India (1997) and Eternal Ganesha: From Birth to Rebirth (2006). She also directed and produced several documentaries.

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