Timing not right: Naveen Patnaik's sister Gita Mehta says no to Padma Shri

Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s sister and New York-based author Gita Mehta has declined to receive the Padma Shri award. After the Union government announced her name for the prestigious award on Friday, Ms Mehta said the timing of the gesture is “misconstrued.”

“I feel honoured but I must decline the award as there is a general election looming and the timing of the award might be misconstrued,” said the famed author of “River Sutra” and “Karma Kola” in a statement.