Enviable green

Maneka Gandhi’s convictions, whether on animals or environment, are reflected in her home. For years her house has been a sanctuary for stray dogs who wander around at will, often occupying the best chairs and sofas. The garden in her MP’s bungalow on Ashoka Road reflects her green philosophy. Gandhi does not believe in manicured lawns and flower beds and has no use for the CPWD gardener allotted to her. She prefers to let the plants in her compound grow wild. She has added to the vegetation by planting a variety of fruit trees and shrubs. Thanks to the thick foliage, trees, and numerous birds, you feel you are in the middle of the countryside and not in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi. The yellow crocuses which grow wild in the thick grass during the monsoon add to the rural landscape. Gandhi’s home was formerly the office of the CPM and the front garden had been cemented to make one large parking area. Gandhi is keen that the communist leaders visit her house to see for themselves the difference between a green outlook and uprooting of foliage to lay concrete slabs. However, Gandhi has not even been able to convert her immediate neighbour, A.R. Antulay, to her philosophy. The minister for minority affairs axed several full-grown trees in his compound without any formal sanction.

Congress gameplan

L. K. Advani's memoirs My Country, My Life were meant to showcase the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate and dispel the image of a hardline Hindutva leader. As Advani notes in his book, nothing matters more to him than his credibility. The Congress, however, has a gameplan up its sleeve to tarnish Advani’s image. The Liberhan Commission, which has been enquiring into the role of Advani, Uma Bharati, Murli Manohar Joshi and others in the Babri mosque demolition for more than 15 years, is expected to release its finding just before the general elections. The Congress believes that the commission, which has been granted 41 extensions, will pass strictures against the BJP leader.

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