New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the 2001 Parliament attack in the Lok Sabha during the Special Parliament Session and saluted the soldiers who took bullets to save Parliament during the 2001 terrorist attack. 

Recalling the terrorist attack on the Parliament, the Prime Minister said that it was not an attack on the building but an attack on the Mother of Democracy itself.

“It was an attack on the soul of India”, the Prime Minister interjected.

He acknowledged the contributions of those who stood between the terrorists and the House to protect its members and paid tributes to the bravehearts.

The tributes reminded everyone about the horrific terror attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001.

It may be recalled that it was on December 13, 2001, that Jagdish, Matbar, Kamlesh Kumari; Nanak Chand and Rampal, Assistant Sub-Inspectors, Delhi Police; Om Prakash, Bijender Singh and Ghanshyam, Head Constables in Delhi Police; and Deshraj, a gardener, CPWD, had sacrificed their lives while defending the Parliament against the terrorist attack.

The perpetrators belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)– two Pakistan-raised terrorist organisations– attacked the Parliament on December 13, 2001, that led to the deaths of five Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service personnel, one CRPF Constable and a gardener and led to increased tensions between India and Pakistan, resulting in the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff.

A total of five terrorists, who infiltrated the Parliament in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels, were killed on December 13, 2001 attack.

More than 100 people, including major politicians, were inside the parliament building at the time. The gunmen used a fake identity sticker on the car they drove and thus easily breached the security deployed around the parliamentary complex. The terrorists carried AK47 rifles, grenade launchers and pistols.

The gunmen drove their vehicle into the car of the Indian Vice President Krishan Kant (who was in the building at the time), got out, and began shooting. The Vice President’s guards and security personnel shot back at the terrorists and then started closing the gates of the compound.

Indian security agencies and the Delhi Police officials said that gunmen received instructions from Pakistan and the operation was carried out under the guidance of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)