UNGA Speech: PM Makes Strong Pitch For India Seat In Security Council

United Nations: Making a strong pitch for India’s inclusion in the UN Security Council (UNSC) in his speech at the virtual 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi drew the world body’s attention to the nation’s role in the global peace.

“For how long will a country which is the world’s largest democracy, a country with more than 18 per cent of the world’s population, a country with hundreds of languages, hundreds of dialects, many creeds, many ideologies, have to wait?” he asked.

“When we were strong, we were never a threat to the world, when we were weak, we were never a burden to the world”, he said. India’s philosophical values are in alignment with the founding principles of the UN, he added.

He assured the world community that India will continue to help the world as it has done during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

In his 20-minute pre-recorded speech, the Prime Minister recalled the historical context in which the UN was set up in 1945. Though he acknowledged that the UN had several accomplishments to its credit, he pointed at the failure of the world body to prevent dozens of wars, civil wars and terror attacks in the last seven decades.

Calling for serious introspection by the UN, he said, “Thousands of people like you and me, were humans too. Lakhs of children vanished, lakhs became homeless. Were the efforts of the UN at that time and even now, adequate?”

“For the last eight months, the world is fighting the coronavirus. Where is the United Nations in that battle? Where is the collective and effective response to this crisis?,” he asked.

Coming down on endless institutional and structural reforms of the UN, he said the Indians have been waiting for the completion of the reforms for long. “Indians are worried and wondering if these reforms would ever reach a logical end. They have been asking till how long will India be kept out of the UN’s decision making structure?” he said.