No pleasantries exchanged as PM, Rahul attend Parliament attack anniversary event

Modi and Rahul Gandhi were in Parliament for an event to pay tribute to the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament attack. The PM was seen exchanging greetings with his predecessor and Congress leader Manmohan Singh.

By: PTI

New Delhi | December 13, 2018 02:23 PM IST

2 min read

Narendra Modi, Congress, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, 2001 Parliament attacks, BJP, Amit Shah, Manmohan Singh, Vijay Goel, Sumitra Mahajan, Venkaiah Naidu, L K Advani, India news, Indian Express

Modi was seen exchanging greetings with his predecessor and Congress leader Manmohan Singh (Express Photograph by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

Two days after the Congress wrested three Hindi heartland states from the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi were a short distance from each other at a function in Parliament on Thursday but did not speak.

The two leaders were in Parliament for an event to pay tribute to the martyrs of the 2001 Parliament attack. Modi was seen exchanging greetings with his predecessor and Congress leader Manmohan Singh.

Union minister Vijay Goel and Minister of State for Social Justice Minister Ramdas Athawale shook hands with the Congress president.

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, BJP veteran L K Advani and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were among the others present at the event. They showered petals on portraits of the martyrs killed in the attack 17 years ago on this day.

On December 13, 2001, five heavily armed gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened fire. Five Delhi police personnel, a woman constable of the Central Reserve Police Fore, two members of the Parliament Watch and Ward Staff, a gardener and a cameraman lost their lives in the attack.

The Congress won the elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, all ruled by the BJP. The votes were counted on Tuesday.

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