Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and several other leaders paid floral tribute to the martyrs who died while protecting the Parliament complex in the 2001 terrorist attack. President Droupadi Murmu, on the 22nd anniversary of the attack, said the nation would forever remain indebted to the martyrs.
In a post on X, President Murmu said, "On this day, 22 years ago, the nefarious plan of terrorists to eliminate the top line of political leadership of the country and damage our Temple of Democracy was foiled by the brave security personnel, including the nine who laid down their lives for the motherland. The nation will forever remain in their debt. Their sacrifice will not be allowed to go in vain as we reiterate today our pledge to wipe out terrorism—a threat to humankind everywhere—in all its forms and manifestations."
Leaders also observed a minute's silence today to pay homage to the fallen jawans at the Parliament complex. The Prime Minister, in a post, said the courage and sacrifice of the jawans in the face of danger "will forever be etched in our nation's memory".
Looking Back At The 2001 Parliament Terrorist Attack
Five terrorists of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed entered the premises of Parliament in a white Ambassador with bogus Home Ministry stickers on December 13, 2001, and opened indiscriminate fire.
The terrorists were equipped with AK-47 weapons, grenades, grenade launchers, and handguns. The first victim of the attack was a CRPF constable named Kamlesh Kumari. Eight security personnel and a Parliament staffer were killed in the attack. However, all the MPs escaped unscathed.
One of the militants was wearing a suicide vest that exploded after he was shot. All terrorists were killed by the security forces following a 40-minute gunfight.
The main suspects in the terror attack were identified as Afzal Guru and his cousin Shaukat Hussain Guru. Afzal was sentenced to death and hanged in Tihar Jail in 2013.