Overview
- The October 16 notice seeks seven BMW 3 Series 330Li M Sport sedans in white—one for the chairperson and six members—at roughly Rs 69.5–70 lakh each, totaling about Rs 5 crore.
- Bid submissions close on November 6 with a Rs 10 lakh earnest money deposit, technical evaluation opens November 7, and delivery is required within 30 days of the supply order.
- The winning vendor must run a minimum seven-day training programme for drivers and staff, including 50–100 km of supervised on-road practice, with all training costs borne by the vendor.
- Senior opposition figures including P. Chidambaram and Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned the expense and the Lokpal’s performance record, as activist Prashant Bhushan and others criticised the optics.
- Unnamed Lokpal sources told Times Now the move follows Section 7 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, citing parity with Supreme Court judges’ service conditions and noting current use of Skoda Superb and Corolla Altis.