Sushma Swaraj: India deserves permanent UNSC seat
Swaraj said the country wants the same responsibilities, prerogatives as well as obligations as the current permanent members.
New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said India has all the credentials to become a permanent member of UN’s Security Council. Ms Swaraj said that she “is confident that if not this time, then next time, India would become a permanent member of the Security Council.”
She also said that the government expects that the new members would have the same rights, including the veto power, as the existing permanent members.
Replying to a supplementary during the Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, Ms Swaraj said India has all the credentials to become a permanent member of the Security Council and four permanent members — US, UK, France and Russia — have extended support. The fifth member, China, has also “not publicly opposed it,” said the minister.
“I am confident that if not this time, then next time, India would become a permanent member of the Security Council,” she said.
When asked whether India would also get the “veto” power, Ms Swaraj said the country wants the same responsibilities, prerogatives as well as obligations as the current permanent members.
“We don’t want any discrimination between old and new members. We don’t want two classes — that there is a first class and a second class of permanent members. This should make it clear that India wants the same responsibilities, prerogatives and obligations as the current permanent members,” she said.
The minister said India has been making diplomatic efforts to ensure not only expansion but also reform in the Security Council. She said India wanted expansion of its permanent as well as non-permanent membership of the council.