Tributes paid to martyrs of parliament attack

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent personalities paid rich tributes on Sunday to the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament House terrorist attack here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi paid tributes at the Parliament House along with other leaders.

"We remember the valour of all those who lost their lives defending the temple of democracy, on this day in 2001," Modi said in a tweet.

The prime minister also met family members of a few martyrs on the occasion.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani, Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien were present at the function.

A blood donation camp was held on the occasion.

On December 13, 2001, five terrorists infiltrated the Parliament House precincts and killed six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel and a gardener in the firing with automatic weapons they subsequently opened.

All five terrorists too were killed in the counter-attack by security personnel.