Tributes pour in on 26/11 attack anniversary
When India was marking Constitution Day in 2008, enemies of humanity carried out the biggest terror attack on India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday as he paid tributes to those who lost their lives in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks which claimed over 160 lives.
Addressing the Constitution Day celebrations in Supreme Court, Modi said: “Today is also the anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks. Fourteen years back, when India was celebrating its Constitution and citizens’ rights, enemies of humanity carried out the biggest terror attack on India. I pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the attack.”
Modi said the Constitution Day celebrations are special as India is also marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav on the occasion of 75 years of Independence.
“‘We the People’ is a commitment and belief that has made India the mother of democracy,” he said, while paying tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar.
Saturday marked the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks carried out in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, in which 166 people were killed and another 238 were injured. Considered among the deadliest terror strikes in India, the attack was carried out by 10 terrorists who were sent to India by Pakistan-based outfit Lashkar-etaiba’s top leadership that worked with Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI, and other outfits.
The National Investigation Agency has already completed its probe against all the perpetrators and shared detailed evidence with Pakistani authorities several times, but there has been no response till date.
Besides Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Union home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, external affairs minister S Jaishankar and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were among those who paid tributes to the victims of the attacks.
“...We share the enduring pain of their loved ones and families. Nation pays homage to the security personnel who fought valiantly and made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.
Shah said the day “gives a message to the whole world to fight unitedly against terrorism.”
Singh said the “country has not forgotten the incident of 26/11, nor will it ever forget.”
Jaishankar said those who planned and oversaw the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai must be brought to justice. Gandhi said “India has always stood fearlessly against fear and violence and will continue to do so.”
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari paid floral tributes to the martyrs at the martyrs’ memorial in the premises of the Police Commissioner Office in south Mumbai. In a tweet, Shinde called it “a dark day in the history of the country”.