Penguin India issued a fresh statement regarding the stalled publication of Sonia Gandhi's memoir. ^[1] Penguin India stated that publishers have a responsibility and duty to critically examine a manuscript, raise questions, make recommendations, and exercise independent editorial judgement. ^[2] Alka Jena, Deputy Director of the Planning & Convergence Department in the Government of Odisha, co-authored the book 'The Orissan' with the father-daughter duo Sandip and Pallavi Das. ^[3] The situation regarding the memoir is described as a political row. ^[4] The stalled publication of the memoir is linked to an impasse over a 'particular issue'. ^[5] Alka Jena stated that the book aims to preserve recipes and techniques that are often carried only through memory and risk disappearing when a generation passes. ^[6] Pallavi Das, based in New York, pitched the book idea to her father Sandip in the summer of 2023, aiming to create a meaningful coffee-table book rather than a conventional cookbook. ^[7] The book 'The Orissan' was published by Penguin Random House India and is priced at ₹5,999. ^[8]