CM Palaniswami demands Param Vir Chakra for Wing Commander Abhinandan

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday requested the Centre to honour Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman with Param Vir Chakra for displaying most “inimitable gallantry” and “valour.” In a letter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Palaniswami has stated: “Wing Commander Abhinandan displayed amazing poise and confidence in the face of adverse condition, 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,” Chief Minister Palaniswami further writes in the letter. “I request the Government of India to confer the nation’s highest military honour—Param Vir Chakra - on Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman,” he has said in the letter.

Wing Commander Varthaman recently shot down a Pakistani F-16 warplane before his MiG 21 was downed, forcing him to bail out in Pakistani territory. He remained in the custody of Pakistan for nearly 59 hours before he was released. 

(With inputs from agencies.)