he Congress on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Union government’s handling of the deadly car bomb blast near the Red Fort, which claimed at least 13 lives.
Citing a major intelligence failure and a worrying delay in official response, the Congress demanded that Home Minister Amit Shah take responsibility for the security lapse.
Pawan Khera, chairman of the AICC’s Media & Publicity Department, issued a formal statement at a press conference, questioning why it took the Union Cabinet nearly 48 hours to officially acknowledge the incident as a terrorist attack.
“Forty-eight hours after the blast shook the national capital, the Union Cabinet finally acknowledged what the entire nation already knew: this was a terror attack,” Khera stated. “The people of India deserve to know why it took so long for the Government to call this what it was, and why it failed to prevent yet another terror strike in the heart of the capital.”
The statement highlighted serious and repeated intelligence failures, pointing to investigative reports that nearly 2,900 kilograms of explosives were recovered in connection with the module behind the Red Fort bombing. This incident comes just seven months after the Pahalgam attack in April, which the Congress also termed a major intelligence failure.
The Congress leader directly challenged the continued tenure of the Home Minister, “Will Home Minister Amit Shah take responsibility, given that several major terror attacks have occurred? From 2015 Gurdaspur attack… to 2019 Pulwama attack, and now this. Yet the Home Minister continues to hold office.” Khera demanded answers as to how such a massive quantity of explosive material could enter the national capital undetected.
Furthermore, Khera questioned the application of the government’s stated “new normal” doctrine—a proactive counter-terrorism policy articulated after the Pahalgam attack. He pressed the Prime Minister to act decisively on this doctrine to bring the perpetrators to justice.
To ensure a unified national response, the Congress put forth three concrete demands: The government must act on the “new normal” doctrine to deliver justice. The Prime Minister should convene an all-party meeting to build a unified national response. The government should prepone the Parliament session to discuss the Delhi Red Fort blast and address growing internal security concerns.
“Unity in action, in the wake of adversity, is the need of the hour,” Khera said, emphasizing that the terror attack derives support and sustenance from external forces and necessitates a cohesive approach with all political parties and state governments.