Amid war of words, Modi shakes hands with Manmohan Singh

Foes yesterday, friends today?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh on Wednesday greeted each other with folded hands as they came face to face at an event to mark the 2001 parliament attack anniversary.

The two leaders met outside Parliament before entering the house for a tribute to the nine who were killed in the attack.

The meeting comes amid the war of words that broke out over the statement that Modi made during a campaign rally in Gujarat.

On the campaign trail, Narendra Modi claimed that some Pakistani officials and Manmohan Singh met at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s house over dinner on December 6. This was a day before Aiyar’s “neech” jibe against Modi that led to his suspension.

In a sharp counter-offensive, the former PM said that Modi was setting a “dangerous precedent” with his “ill-thought transgression” and asked him to apologise to the nation.

“I sincerely hope that prime minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points.

“I sincerely hope that he will apologise to the nation for his ill thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies,” Singh had said.

Singh also said he was “deeply pained and anguished” by the “falsehood and canards” being spread to score political points by the prime.

Congress president-elect Rahul Gandhi, who has been engaged in an often fierce battle of wits with BJP leaders over the Gujarat election, was also present at Parliament and appeared to share some light-hearted moments with Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Ravi Shankar Prasad.

On December 13, 2001, five heavily-armed gunmen stormed the Parliament complex and opened indiscriminate fire.

Five Delhi Police personnel, a woman Central Reserve Police official, two Parliament watch and ward staff, a gardener and a camera person were among those who lost their lives in the attack.

“The nation is ever grateful to the martyrs who laid down their lives to protect the Parliament, the temple of democracy,” Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tweeted.

Prime Minister Modi said the sacrifice of those killed will not be forgotten. “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,” he wrote on Twitter.

-- With inputs from PTI