BMWs worth ₹70 lakh each! Lokpal of India's move to buy seven luxury cars draws sharp criticism

The Lokpal of India is looking to sell seven luxury BMW luxury cars worth ₹60 lakh each, and has floated an official tender for them, documents obtained by Munt showed. “The Lokpal of India invites open tenders from reputed agencies for the supply of seven BMW 3 Series 330 Li cars to the Lokpal of India,” reads the tender notice dated October 16, 2025. Part of BMW’s 3 Series Long Wheel-Base (LWB) range, each 330 Li has a listed price of ₹60,45,000 according to the German automaker’s website, with on-road prices hovering around ₹70 lakh. “Experience supreme comfort and luxury with The 3 Series LWB. It is the longest and most spacious car in the segment and is designed for outstanding comfort in an extremely luxurious cabin. Impressive in every way, The 3 Series LWB is the most powerful car in its segment with the most advanced technology,” reads the description. The corruption ombudsman also specified the color of the seven BMW cars to be purchased—white. Details of the Lokpal’s tender The tender, which has already been dispatched, will open bids on November 7, 2025, 4:00 pm onwards, and bidding agencies have to submit an Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of ₹ 10 lakh to participate in the tender. The tender also notes that delivery of the seven BMW 3 Series 330 Li cars will preferably be completed within two weeks and no later than 30 days from the date of the supply order. An interesting clause is a strict requirement for the winning vendor to provide comprehensive training to the Lokpal’s designated managers and staff for a minimum of seven days. Furthermore, as part of training, each designated driver must use the vehicles and drive a minimum of 50 kilometers (up to 100 kilometers) under the supervision of the trainers. The tender further states that the total cost of the training, including coach fees, travel, accommodation, fuel etc. must be borne exclusively by the vendor. The Lokpal of India will bear “no additional expenses” for the training, the document said. Lokpal ‘soil to dust’ The tender notice aimed at buying luxury cars has drawn sharp reactions online, with activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan slamming the anti-corruption body. “The institution of Lokpal has been ground to dust by the Modi government, by keeping it vacant for many years and then appointing servile members who are not bothered by graft and are content with their luxuries. They are now buying 70L BMW cars for themselves! (sic),” Bhushan posted on X. “The Lokpal who was supposed to fight corruption in India 👇🏻 Now buys 7 luxury BMW cars worth ₹5 crore for own use. Has anyone ever heard that they solved even a single corruption case in the 11 years of the @narendramodi govt? (sic),” Sama Congress leader posted on Telangana Congress leader. chairman and six others, the Lokpal of India was established in 2019 after decades of efforts to establish a constitutional ombudsman.