Kabhi Loan, Kabhi Mum

Rahul Gandhi is ind­ebted to Sonia—and not just because she’s his mother. He has taken a loan of Rs 5 lakh from her. Election affidavits rev­eal that loaning money to family members is a trend of sorts amongst politicians. While Mulayam Singh Yadav owes Rs 2.13 crore to his son Akhilesh, he has simultaneously handed out loans to other family members—his second wife Sadhana Yadav (Rs 6.75 lakh) and his son Prateek (Rs 43.7 lakh). Shatrughan Sinha’s affidavit was not khamosh ­(silent) about the loan of Rs 10.6 crore he took from his daughter, Sonakshi.