Financial lessons from Soniaji's affidavit

A car and a house. That's two of the greatest Indian middle class obsessions. A recent report suggested the Indian middle class had accumulated huge debts by buying these two priority items on loan. In its cities, metros and megapolises, these are the fastest disappearing items.

Real estate dealers are making a killing and middle class dreams travel on four wheels of a sedan. A car and a house or, for the careful ones, a house then a car. You haven't arrived yet if you don't own the two. You are either lower middle class or you are Sonia Gandhi.

According to the affidavit Mrs Gandhi filed in Raebareli yesterday, she doesn't own either of the two. She doesn't own a car, though practically her car has a dozen cars leading the way and a dozen others following. She doesn't own a house, but hers is the best address in town. Sprawling is too small a word for 10, Janpath. She does own a house in Italy. Now all you going wink wink and thinking home is where the heart is, hold your horses.

Her Italian villa is worth just about Rs 13 lakh. With that, you can't buy a jhuggi in Lutyen's Bungalow zone. A one-room flat in Sector Sigma in Greater Noida, or Bhiwandi in Rajasthan would cost you twice that. According to her 2004 election affidavit, that Italy house cost Rs 12.75 lakh then. Just Rs 25,000 appreciation in two years. In Mayur Vihar, a flat worth Rs 15 lakh in 2004 is worth Rs 30 lakh in 2006. Italy is not the place to invest in real estate.

The same goes for Sultanpur or Dera Mandi. Sonia has agricultural land worth Rs 219,000 in these two places and in the last two years, the appreciation amounts to zilch. Had this been in Ghaziabad or the farmhouses in South Delhi, the price would have surely tripled.

But the woman behind the Kendra Sarkar has jewellery that was worth Rs 14 lakh in 2004 and has blown to Rs 21 lakh in 2006. Did gold appreciate so much in that time or did she buy more of the metal in the last two years? The affidavit doesn't detail that. But it does say this: gold for a rainy day remains the favourite investment instrument for Indian women. Since she is not seen wearing all that in public, it's safe to presume it's an investment instrument.

She also had given Rs 5 lakh to Priyanka Gandhi as loan before 2004 and Priyanka, it seems, has not returned the money, because her 2006 affidavit shows that those five lakhs are still with her.

There are lessons to be learnt from the leader. Here are the top five lessons for Congressmen who want to follow the leader in letter and spirit.

Lesson no. 1: Never loan money to your children. They are not likely to return it.

Lesson no. 2: Gurgaon, Ghaziabad or for that matter Hyderabad are best places to invest in real estate. Sultanpur or Turin is not.

Lesson no. 3: It's better not to buy a car. Car depreciates. Become a political leader instead. Car free.

Lesson no. 4: It's better not to buy a house, even though the price of a house appreciates. But a house for free is better than your own.

Lesson no. 4: Buy jewellery. Yellow metal shows your mettle. And gold is gold.