Congress slams Lokpal after anti-corruption body issues tender to purchase 7 BMW cars

The Congress on Wednesday (October 22, 2025) criticised anti-corruption body Lokpal after it floated a tender to procure seven luxurious BMW cars for its members.

Taking to X, senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “I chaired the Parliamentary Committee on Lokpal. Dr. L.M. Singhvi first conceived the idea of Lokpal in the early 1960s. To see this anti-corruption body now ordering BMWs for its members is tragic irony — the guardians of integrity chasing luxury over legitimacy.”

Very few probes

In another post, he stated: “8,703 complaints. Only 24 probes. 6 prosecution sanctions. And now, BMWs worth ₹70 lakh each. If this is our anti-corruption watchdog, it’s more poodle than panther.”

According to the tender and the manufacturer’s website, the long-wheelbase sedan, with an on-road price of approximately ₹69.5 lakh per unit in Delhi, is described as the longest and most spacious car in the segment designed for outstanding comfort in an extremely luxurious cabin. The collective cost of the procurement is worth around ₹5 crore.

Questioning the move in a social media post, former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said: “Why spend public money to acquire these cars? I hope that at least one or two members of the Lokpal have refused, or will refuse, to accept these cars.”

Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh mounted a scathing attack and alleged that a false narrative had been created against the Manmohan Singh government by Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, ‘India Against Corruption’, and the RSS but now the “reality of the Lokpal is before the people”.

“This is not Lokpal but shaukh [indulgence] pal or ‘shock’ pal,” Mr. Ramesh said in a video post on his X handle, adding: “The mindset is that ‘we are Lokpal, we are above everything and not accountable’. What kind of investigation have they exactly done?”