Odisha CM's sister Gita declines Padma Shri, says timing not right
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik's elder sister and author Gita Mehta has declined to accept the Padma Shri announced on Friday. "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 nGovernment and myself," she said in statement released from New York.