Rohini blast: CM rues Capital’s ‘crumbling security’

An explosion near the CRPF school in Rohini, northwest Delhi, on Sunday morning sent political circles into overdrive, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government blaming the “crumbling security” in the national capital on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government.
In a Hindi post on X, chief minister Atishi said: “The incident of bomb blast outside a school in Rohini exposes the crumbling security system in Delhi. The responsibility of law and order in Delhi lies with the BJP led central government. But the BJP, leaving this work, spends all its time in obstructing the work of the elected government of Delhi. This is the reason why the situation in Delhi today is like the 1990s Mumbai underworld era. Bullets are being fired openly in the city, gangsters are extorting money and the morale of criminals is high.”
She said: “BJP has neither the intention to work nor the capability. If by mistake the people of Delhi give them the responsibility of the Delhi government, they will make the condition of schools, hospitals, electricity and water the same as the condition of law and order in Delhi today.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that it’s “regrettable” to see Aam Aadmi Party leaders “playing dirty politics over sensitive issues such as the reported blast near a school in Rohini on Sunday morning” or incidents of firing.
“Delhi Police has a high crime detection record and has solved almost all incidents of crime reported in recent past. Similarly, we are confident that Delhi Police will solve today’s cases and nab the culprits at the earliest and political parties should wait for police statement,” Sachdeva said.
He further appealed to Delhi Police to strengthen security in market areas for the festive season.
In a press conference on the day, Atishi said that law and order, police and land come under the BJP’s central government. “BJP-led central government spends 99% time to stop the work of elected government and not even 1% time is spent on improving the law and order conditions… Over 60 bullets have been fired in Welcome area on Saturday. Everyday, we hear about extortion attempts and now, a small bomb blast has occurred. What is happening in Delhi?”
In a separate press conference, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia said that the blast, which comes ahead of the festival season, is a very worrisome development. “Central government is not acting at all. This is a failure of BJP-led central government. The school wall has been damaged by the explosion. Thank God that the incident took place on a day when school was closed… People of Delhi are worried about the law and order situation.”
Sisodia sought to reiterate that this was not a “one-off” incident. “Yesterday (Saturday), there was open firing in Welcome area. Gangsters are not afraid. Such incidents are happening every day. We saw similar extortions in Narayana, Nangloi and other places. BJP should respect the constitutional arrangement and work on improving the law and order of the city,” he said.
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, meanwhile, said the central government has failed in the works assigned to it in Delhi.
Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said that the bomb blast at the CRPF school in Rohini was yet another “scary moment” for the public, alleging that the Capital has become “the most unsafe place with criminals roaming freely, planting bombs, committing murders, robberies, snatchings, and extortions, with the Aam Aadmi Party government and the Union home ministry standing as mute witnesses to the complete breakdown of law and order in the Capital”.
“Governments in Delhi and at the Centre, and law-enforcement agencies have totally failed in ensuring the safety and security of the people, as bomb blasts, murders, extortions and robberies have become everyday occurrence. It is the misfortune of the people that no one seems to be in control of law and order in the Capital,” Yadav said.