Stalin greets Abhinandan Varthaman on being conferred 'Vir Chakra'

Stalin hailed Abhinandan as the ''valorous son of the Tamil soil'', who guarded the motherland in line with the traditions of bravery celebrated in the Tamil classic work 'Purananuru.' ''I greet him with abundant joy on him being conferred the Vir Chakra award,'' the Chief Minister tweeted.

President Kovind presented the Vir Chakra to Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Varthaman Abhinandan. ''He showed conspicuous courage, demonstrated gallantry in the face of the enemy while disregarding personal safety and displayed exceptional sense of duty,'' said a Rashtrapati Bhavan tweet. On Monday, Kovind conferred gallantry awards to personnel of the armed and paramilitary forces. Vir Chakra is the nation's third highest gallantry medal. In 2019, Abhinandnan Varthaman had downed a Pakistani fighter aircraft before his jet was shot down during aerial combat. He was held captive by Pakistan for days after his capture and was later released by the neigbouring country.