By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: A day after the Centre nominated eminent author Gita Mehta for Padma Shri, she declined the prestigious award citing the timing of the honour which she felt is not right.

In a press statement issued from New York on Saturday, Mehta said she is deeply honoured that the Government of India considered her worthy of a Padma Shri.

However, with elections around, she said, the timing of the award may be misconstrued.

“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,” her statement said.

Mehta, elder sister of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, is known for her books such as Karma Cola, River Sutra, Raj, Snakes and Ladders : Glimpses of Modern India, Eternal Ganesha : From Birth to Rebirth.

On Friday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had announced the conferment of the fourth highest civilian award on Mehta and mentioned her as a foreigner.

Her family sources said she is a proud Indian as she was born to former Chief Minister of Odisha and freedom fighter late Biju Patnaik. She is married to Ajai Singh ‘Sonny’ Mehta, Editor-in-Chief of the Alfred A Knopf publishing house, New York.