Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday sparked controversy by questioning the timing of the bomb blast near Delhi’s Red Fort on Monday evening, asking, “What is the reason for terrorist attacks in the country during elections?”

The chief minister’s remarks have drawn a sharp response from the opposition BJP.

“What is the reason for terrorist attacks in the country during elections?” Siddaramaiah asked on 'X' on Wednesday, sharing media coverage of his statement on the incident.

His comment followed the completion of the second and final phase of voting in Bihar on Tuesday, and the blast in Delhi that occurred a day before polling.

BJP Karnataka unit president B Y Vijayendra criticised Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders, calling their statements “irresponsible, insensitive, and low-level politics.”

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Tuesday about blasts in the country during elections, the CM said, “There should be no bomb blasts in the country; innocent people have died.”

He added, “It has happened during the election, and it needs to be looked into.”

Siddaramaiah also noted the possibility that the blast could influence the Bihar polls, saying, “It will be against the BJP.”

Earlier, Minister Priyank Kharge had called Home Minister Amit Shah the “most incompetent Home Minister” in independent India and demanded his resignation, alleging an intelligence failure over the blast.

A powerful blast near Delhi's Red Fort on November 10 left 12 people dead and more than 20 injured.

The incident came days after a "white-collar terror module", allegedly linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, was busted in Faridabad and Haryana.

Eight people, including three doctors associated with Al-Falah University in Faridabad, were arrested in the case, and large quantities of explosives were recovered during raids.