2001 Parliament attack: Narendra Modi, Manmohan Singh pay homage to martyrs

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari and other parliamentarians on Tuesday paid tributes to the martyrs of the 2001 attack on Parliament.Others present at the ceremony here included Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, veteran BJP leader LK Advani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu.Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, BJP MP Satyanarain Jatiya and TMC MP Derek O'Brien were among other members who attended the solemn ceremony held in the premises of Parliament on the 15th anniversary of the attack.Some of the martyrs' family members were also present during the ceremony. I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu said they had conveyed to him some problems faced by them and he would try to support them. He also added that some of the families belonged to Haryana and he could take up those issues with the state government.The parliamentarians observed silence in the honour of the martyrs and a blood donation camp was also organised at the Parliament complex.On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire, killing nine persons.Five Delhi Police personnel, a woman Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) official, two Parliament watch and ward staff, and a gardener were among those who lost their lives.With inputs from PTI