Explained: Why Narendra Modi got the Maybach when he already had the BMW 7-Series Security Edition

A few days after the Special Protection Group (SPG) acquires a new Mercedes Maybach S650 Guard for the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, the opposition has started attacking the Central Government for the expensive purchase made.

The new Mercedes Maybach S650 Guard acquired by SPG for the Prime Minister has been a lot in news for its astronomical price and the levels of safety it provides. The car originally costs over Rs 12 crore and comes with a host of modifications over the regular Maybach S650. But anonymous sources claim that the car costs one-third of that. The SPG does not pay import duties to the government for importing vehicles.

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The S650 Guard features a VR10 level protection level, which is considered as the highest-ever protection level offered in a production-spec car. The made-to-order luxury saloon is capable of withstanding hardened steel core bullets and protecting the occupants from TNT blasts from a distance of 2 meters. SPG has acquired two black-colored units of the Mercedes Maybach S650 Guard for security purposes.

It is a replacement for BMW 7-Series Hi-Security

The Mercedes Maybach S650 Guard is powered by a 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine, which makes a maximum power output of 523 bhp and a peak torque output of 830 Nm. The car has come as a replacement to the BMW 7-Series High Security, which was earlier used by the Prime Minister and is no longer in production anymore.

The S650 Guard has been acquired as a policy of SPG to replace the Prime Minister’s official car once every six years and has been bought at one-third of the original price according to anonymous sources. The Prime Minister has been seen in bullet-proof cars like BMW 7-Series High-Security, Land Rover Range Rover Sentinel, and Toyota Land Cruiser.

The leading political party in the opposition, Indian National Congress, has stated that the S650 Guard acquired for the Prime Minister is a heavy expense that should have been avoided in these tough times when the whole world is facing a crisis due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Supporting its argument, Congress has stated that the Prime Minister has changed his official ride five times since 2014 when Modi was elected as the Prime Minister for the first time. In these seven years since then, the country has faced several adversities like salary deductions, job losses, failing businesses, and other challenges, mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congress also stated that instead of selecting a locally-manufactured vehicle, the SPG chose to go for a German-made S650 Guard for Prime Minister’s safety. This move contradicts Narendra Modi’s ‘Make In India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaigns. While Modiji started his election campaign with a Scorpio, he has never been seen in a Made-in-India car ever since he was elected as the Prime Minister.

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