Smriti Irani shares meme on Abhinandan Varthaman

NEW DELHI: Union Minister Smriti Irani shared a meme on her Instagram account this morning on the Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was captured by Pakistan and returned to India last Friday.

The Meme is of Wing Commander Abhinandan’s stern response to the Army Major of Pakistan which was seen in one of the videos circulated by Pakistan when he was in Pakistans territory and said to the Pakistani Army major “I’m not supposed to tell you this”.

In the meme, there are two men sitting for an exam. The man sitting in the front is titled “Pakistan” and the man sitting at the back is titled “Abhinandan”. “Abhinandan” is seen passing a chit to “Pakistan”. The second frame in the meme shows an angry “Pakistan” with the chit open. The paper reads: “I’m not supposed to tell you this”.

A day after his return from Pakistan, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman informed the top brass of Indian Air Force (IAF) that he was subjected to a lot of mental harassment, though he was not physically tortured by Pakistan military authorities.

On February 27, Varthaman, flying a MiG-21 Bison, was chasing Pakistani F-16 fighters which had transgressed into the Indian airspace, and in the process, his plane crossed over to the Pakistani side and was shot down. He ejected safely but was taken into custody by the Pakistan Army upon landing. Before his plane was shot, he had hit a Pakistani F-16.