TN CM demands Param Vir Chakra for Abhinandan

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday demanded that Abhinandan Varthaman, the IAF Wing Commander who was in Pakistani captivity for two days after the aircraft he flew fell in the enemy territory, be chosen for the country’s highest military honour ‘Param Vir Chakra’.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Palaniswami said Varthaman displayed “amazing poise and confidence in the face of adverse conditions, which has won him many hearts across the country.“

“It is appropriate that he be awarded India’s highest military honour ‘Param Vir Chakra (PVC) for displaying most inimitable gallantry and valour,” Palaniswami said in his letter.

Abhinandan Varthaman, whose family hails from a village in Tiruvannamalai district in Tamil Nadu, who spent nearly 60 hours in Pakistan custody after he landed in the neighbouring country while flying a MiG-21 Bison on February 27.

In the letter, Palaniswami said Abhinandan Varthaman was released from Pakistani custody “due to the diplomatic initiatives of Hon’ble Prime Minister and intense international pressure.

The Wing Commander’s father retired from the Indian Air Force (IAF) as Air Marshal in 2012 and the serving officer’s grandfather also served in the Indian Army.

Abhinandhan’s family hails from Tirupanamoor village in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu and his father and mother currently live in one of the colonies where serving and retired Air Force officers reside on the outskirts of this city.