UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday questioned for how long will India, the world�s largest democracy and home to 1.3 billion people, be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations, asserting that reform in the responses, processes and in the very character of the global body is the �need of the hour�.
In his pre-recorded video statement to the landmark General Debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, Modi said the stability in the United Nations and empowerment of the world body are essential for the welfare of the world. The Prime Minister�s strong push for UN reforms and the much-delayed expansion of the powerful Security Council came as India will begin its two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the 15-member Council from January 1 next year.
�For how long will India be kept out of the decision-making structures of the United Nations? How long would a country have to wait particularly when the transformational changes happening in that country affect a large part of the world,� Modi asked.
He said that while it is a fact that the faith and respect that the United Nations enjoys among the 1.3 billion people in India is �unparalleled�, it is also true that the people of India have been waiting for a long time for the process for the reforms of the United Nations to get completed.
�Today, people of India are concerned whether this reform-process will ever reach its logical conclusion,� he said, adding that every Indian today, while seeing the contribution of India in the world organisation, aspires for India�s expanded role in the United Nations.
India has been spearheading decades-long efforts to reform the Security Council, saying a structure set up in 1945 does not reflect contemporary realities of the 21st century and is ill-equipped to handle current challenges.
There is widespread support, including by four out of the five permanent members of the Security Council � US, UK, France and Russia � for a permanent seat for India at the Council.
Modi said India is a country which is the largest democracy of the world, with more than 18 per cent of the world population, has hundreds of languages, dialects, many sects and ideologies, which was a leading global economy for centuries and also endured hundreds of years of foreign rule.
Modi emphasised that the world of today is a completely different era from the world of 1945 when the global situation, sources-resources, problems-solutions were all quite different. �With the changing times, if we don�t change, then the drive needed to bring change will also get weakened,� he said.
Modi said India will not hesitate to raise its voice against the enemies of humanity, including terrorism, smuggling of illegal weapons, drugs and money-laundering, and will always speak in support of peace, security and prosperity.
This year�s high-level UN General Assembly is being held in a largely virtual format due to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier, India�s Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, introduced Modi�s pre-recorded statement from the General Assembly Hall. � PTI
