Political leaders pay tribute to 2001 Parliament attack martyrs

NEW DELHI: Political leaders cutting across party lines began the day by remembering those who lost their lies 16 years ago during the Parliament attack.

Politicians from various political parties, including Prime Minister Nrednra Modi, gathered at the Parliament on Wednesday morning to pay floral tributes to the bravehearts.

Also in attendance were vice-president Venkaiah Naidu, Union home minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi was seen exchanging pleasantries with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad after paying their respects at the martyrs' memorial.



In a highly-charged moment, PM Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared to set aside their differences, warmly greeting one another on their way to the House.



Political leaders also took to Twitter to pay homage to those who sacrificed their lives on the altar of the nation.




On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed terrorists belonging to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), stormed the Parliament complex in New Delhi and opened fire indiscriminately.

14 people, of them 13 security personnel and one civilian, were killed in the attack.

The incident took place around 40 minutes after Parliament was adjourned and about 100 members of parliament were present in the building.