‘Shauq pal’: Oppn slams Lokpal over Rs 5 crore tender for 7 BMW cars

New Delhi: Top anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal drew sharp criticism from the opposition on Wednesday after floating a tender to procure seven luxurious BMW cars, with leaders accusing the “guardians of integrity” of “chasing luxury over legitimacy”.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh took a sharp dig at the Lokpal, saying the institution is now a “Shauq pal”, a play on the Urdu word that loosely translates to pursuing personal interests or indulgences.

He said a false narrative was created against the Manmohan Singh government with Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, “India Against Corruption” and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) indulging in propaganda, and added that now, the reality of the Lokpal is before the people.

It needs to be asked what investigations has the Lokpal carried out and whose arrests it has succeeded in, Ramesh said.

He said the Lokpal is now more of a “shock pal”, “shok (mourn) pal” and “shauq (indulgence) pal”. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram wondered that when Supreme Court judges are given modest sedans, why do the chairman and six members of the Lokpal require BMW cars.

“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,” Chidambaram said in a post on X.

In a post on X, TMC MP Saket Gokhale said, “Lokpal’s luxury. Annual budget of India’s Lokpal is Rs 44.32 crore. Now, Lokpal is purchasing 7 luxury BMW cars at approx Rs 5 crore for all members. This equals 10 per cent of the entire annual budget.”