PM Modi, President Kovind pay tribute to 2001 Parliament attack martyrs

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union ministers paid tribute, on Monday, to those who died in the 2001 Parliament attack for their “service to the nation and supreme sacrifice”.

“I pay homage to brave security personnel who laid down their lives on this day in 2001, defending the Parliament of the world’s largest democracy against a dastardly terrorist attack. The nation shall forever remain grateful to them for their supreme sacrifice,” President Kovind took to Twitter and wrote. 

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“I pay my tributes to all those security personnel who were martyred in the line of duty during the Parliament attack in 2001. Their service to the nation and supreme sacrifice continues to inspire every citizen,” tweeted PM Modi.

Amit Shah, the Union Minister for Home Affairs, praised the soldiers’ bravery as well, and said, “Your unparalleled valour and sacrifice will always inspire us to serve the nation.”

“I salute the courage and valour of all the soldiers, who made their supreme sacrifice to protect the temple of Indian democracy – Parliament House – in the cowardly terrorist attack,” he tweeted in Hindi.

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Defence minister Rajnath Singh said, “the nation will remain grateful for their courage and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.” “My tributes to those brave security personnel who sacrificed their lives during the attack on the Parliament House in 2001,” Singh wrote on Twitter.

On December 13, 2001, five heavily armed terrorists attacked the Parliament complex and began fire, killing 14 persons, mostly security services members and a civilian. 

The incident happened around 40 minutes after Parliament had adjourned, and there were about 100 people in the premises at the time. Those inside were unharmed. 

In parliament, senior BJP leader L K Advani said that the attack was carried out by Pakistan-backed terrorist groups Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Mohammed Afzal Guru, Shaukat Hussain, Afsan Guru, and SAR Geelani were charged as the four masterminds. Within a few days, four of them were detained on suspicion of being the masterminds behind the attack. 

Afzal Guru was hanged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail in February 2013.