Karnataka BJP Slams Siddaramaiah Over Red Fort Blast Remark, Demands Apology

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, said that the Chief Minister made a political statement and I felt deeply disappointed after hearing it.

BJP leader Narayanaswamy said, "Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the Delhi bomb blast will affect the Bihar elections. Because of this, BJP will face a setback, and the Congress and the INDIA alliance will get favourable results."

He demanded that the Chief Minister should first apologise to the people of the state, stressing that such sensitive issues should not be mixed with politics or elections.

He accused Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of displaying a great degree of irresponsibility and said he strongly condemned the statement.

BJP leader Narayanaswamy also said, "The Prime Minister has subtly made it clear that the Delhi terrorist attack will be answered in the same manner as the 'Sindoor model'. But even now, some Congress leaders sitting in the opposition are speaking irresponsibly."

He added, "Between 2004 and 2014, during the Congress-led UPA government, there were on an average 4,000 terrorist incidents per year."

"After our government came to power in 2014, that number dropped to only 1,000 to 1,500 per year. In 2025, there have been only 629 incidents so far. It is clear to anyone that our government has successfully controlled terrorism."

He also said that a meeting of Rajya Sabha members was convened on Tuesday regarding the upcoming Belagavi legislative session.

"We discussed many issues. Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti has already said the session may begin on December 8, but the state government has not yet made any decision," he noted.

"We discussed the issues to be raised, our conduct in the session, how to hold the government accountable, and highlight its failures, corruption, and lack of development. The entire northern Karnataka region has been neglected. The state government has not addressed farmers' problems," he charged.

The Legislative Council Opposition leader said, "Only after BJP took to the streets did the state government give small-scale relief to sugarcane growers. Apart from issuing statements about flood relief, no funds have been released. Keeping all these problems in mind, we discussed how to debate them effectively in the session. We have already planned strategies to corner the government in the House."

Commenting on a query regarding why incidents such as Delhi blasts occur during elections, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that Centre must answer why such blasts occur during elections.

"Let Central government investigate it," he underlined.

The statements are likely to trigger a controversy.

When journalists asked why bomb blasts seem to occur during election times, referring to the recent Delhi blast and whether it could influence the Bihar elections, Cm Siddaramaiah responded: "The Centre must answer why such blasts occur during elections. Let the Central government investigate and respond. Such incidents are tragic -- the loss of innocent lives is deeply unfortunate."

When asked if India is becoming a nation defined by one religion, CM Siddaramaiah replied, "India is a constitutionally pluralistic country, not a single-religion nation."

- IANS