Naveen not to celebrate birthday today

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will not celebrate his 77th birthday on Monday owing to the demise of his elder sister Gita Mehta last month, a CMO statement said. Naveen also requested his well-wishers not to visit his official residence ‘Naveen Niwas’ to greet him on the occasion.

“Due to the demise of his elder sister Gita Mehta last month, the Chief Minister has decided not to celebrate his birthday this year,” a communication from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said on Sunday.

Naveen, the five-time Chief Minister of the State, did not celebrate his birthday last year as he went to Hyderabad to attend a business meeting.

He had chosen not to celebrate his birthday for four years in a row - in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also in 2018 and 2019 owing to cyclones ‘Titli’ and ‘Fani’. He also did not celebrate his birthday in 2016 due to the Uri attack.

Naveen was born in Cuttack on October 16, 1946. He became the Chief Minister in 2000. Now, he is the second longest-serving Chief Minister of any State in the country, after Pawan Chamling of Sikkim. Chamling was the Chief Minister of the Himalayan State from December 12, 1994 till May 27, 2019 — more than 24 years.