Abhinandan matured as fighter pilot during UPA: Salman Khurshid politicises Wing Commander's return

New Delhi, Mar 03: While the entire world heaved a sigh of relief with the news about Abhinandan's safe return and hailed his valour , senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid chose to give Congress the credit for his courage.

Taking to his Twitter handle, the senior Congress leader said: "Many kudos for Wing Commander abhi Varthaman the face of India's resistance to enemy aggression. Great poise and confidence in face of adversity. We are proud that he received his wings in 2004 and matured as fighter pilot during UPA."

This is not the first time that Congress has been called out for its insensitive and inappropriate tweet. Last year, Salman Khurshid statement during Sridevi's death that "the UPA Govt in 2013 awarded the Padma Shri" invited flak from Twitterati.

Varthaman, who was captured on February 27 by Pakistan following a dogfight between the two air forces in which his MIG-21 was shot down, returned home from his nearly three-day captivity, a major step towards defusing a near-war situation triggered by India's retaliation over Pakistan's continued support for terrorism.

He finally emerged at 9.10 p.m(IST) at the Wagah checkpost on the Pakistani side, accompanied by Pakistani rangers, the Indian air attache posted in the High Commission in Islamabad.

He was wearing a civilian clothes a dark jacket and khakhi trousers, walking proudly toward the gates that separated his captors' country from his homeland.