New Delhi

Leaders across party lines on Saturday paid homage to the security personnel who lost their lives while thwarting the terrorist assault on Parliament in 2001, as the nation observed the 24th anniversary of the attack.

Vice President C P Radhakrishnan led the tributes at a solemn ceremony held outside the old Parliament building, now known as Samvidhan Sadan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Radhakrishnan, who also serves as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, were among the first to lay floral wreaths in memory of the fallen heroes.

The brief commemorative event is organised every year on December 13 to mark the day when terrorists attempted to storm the Parliament complex.

President Droupadi Murmu separately remembered the victims, describing them as “brave heroes” who made the ultimate sacrifice in defence of the nation’s democratic institutions. In a message shared on social media platform X, she said the country remains forever indebted to them and their families, and reiterated India’s resolve to combat terrorism in all its forms.

During the ceremony, personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) presented a guard of honour, followed by a minute of silence. Until 2023, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) traditionally performed the ‘salami shastra’ or present-arms ritual at the event.

Several senior leaders, including Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, attended the tribute ceremony. Union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh and Arjun Ram Meghwal also paid floral respects at the portraits of the personnel who died while preventing the attack.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla was unable to attend as he was in Latur to participate in the funeral of former Lok Sabha Speaker and former Union minister Shivraj Patil.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi shared a message on social media, recalling the “heinous attack” on Parliament and praising the courage and vigilance displayed by the security forces. He said their steadfast sense of duty in the face of grave danger would always be remembered, and that the nation would remain eternally grateful for their sacrifice.

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On December 13, 2001, five heavily armed terrorists attempted to breach the Parliament complex. Personnel from the then Parliament Security Service, along with the CRPF and Delhi Police, successfully neutralised the attackers before they could enter the building. In the exchange, six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Service staff members, a gardener and a television journalist lost their lives, while all five terrorists were killed in the forecourt of the Parliament.