Narendra Modi, Manmohan Singh greet each other at ceremony to mark 2001 Parliament attack
Over the past week, the two have been criticising each other while campaigning for the Gujarat elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh greeted each other warmly on Wednesday, as political leaders across party lines met at Delhi’s Parliament House complex to mark the 16th anniversary of the attack in the premises in 2001, PTI reported.
Later in the day, however, Singh said he was “deeply pained and anguished by the falsehood” Modi was spreading “to score political points in a lost cause”. In a video released by the Congress on Twitter, Singh said the prime minister was “setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office” – a statement he had made on Monday, as well.
Former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh issues a statement on the baseless allegations made towards him by PM Modi. pic.twitter.com/9fcsjRZfQk
— UP Congress (@WithCongressUP) December 13, 2017
Over the past week, Modi and Singh criticised each other repeatedly while campaigning for the Gujarat elections. Modi had accused Singh of working with Pakistan to ensure the BJP’s defeat in Gujarat, while Singh had said Modi was spreading falsehoods to “score political points” ahead of the polls.
BJP National President Amit Shah took to Twitter to react to Singh’s comments. “We are seeing a very angry Manmohan Singh ji these days,” he said. “We just want to ask him whether he was so angry when monumental loot and plunder was happening under his watch.”
Among others at the ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the Parliament attack were Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, BJP veteran LK Advani, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party President-elect Rahul Gandhi.
Political leaders also took to Twitter to pay tributes:
We pay homage to those who laid down their lives protecting the temple of our democracy on 13th December 2001. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/Fn4RYDvqxL
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 13, 2017
On 13/12/2001 our brave soldiers dispelled a terror attack on the Parliament house and displayed exemplary courage. We remember and salute the valour and national service of our security forces and pay respectful tribute to the martyrs.
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) December 13, 2017
13th December, 2001.
— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) December 13, 2017
Today marks 16 years since the cowardly terrorist attack on our Parliament: the shrine of our democracy.
I pay homage to all the brave security personnel who laid down their lives protecting it.#ParliamentAttack
The nation is ever grateful to the martyrs who laid down their lives to protect the Parliament, the temple of Democracy. #Parliamentattack pic.twitter.com/XKTUqcl34y
— VicePresidentOfIndia (@VPSecretariat) December 13, 2017
Homage to martyrs whose supreme sacrifice to protect our temple of democracy will never be forgotten by a grateful Nation. #ParliamentAttack pic.twitter.com/zqNo0Aoina
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) December 13, 2017
On December 13, 2001, five gunmen drove into Parliament in a car plastered with a fake sticker pass. Once inside the complex, they got out of the vehicle and opened fire. A gunfight ensued as security personnel returned fire, and one of the intruders detonated explosives strapped to his waist.
Fourteen people died in the attack, including police and security personnel, a gardener, a journalist and the militants themselves. The strike was allegedly carried out by the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist group.