India should get permanent seat in UNSC: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked why India, which has "peace in its DNA" and is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Gautam Buddha, had to wait for 70 years for the permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

Underling that the United Nations will complete 70 years of its formation this year, the Prime Minister said time has come that India "should get justice" by giving it a permanent seat in the UNSC.

"I want to draw the attention of the world that the United Nations will complete 70 years of its formation this year and we are marking the 100th anniversary of the World War I.

The world should know that in the war over 75,000 Indian soldiers were martyred and over 14 lakh soldiers from India had participated, even though India had no interest in it," Modi said during his joint media interaction with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He said India is among the countries that has contributed the most to peacekeeping forces and its contribution has been praised world-over. He said India's history is testimony to the fact that it has never indulged in aggression and attacked any country.

"If that country does not get the Security Council membership, has to wait for 70 years, peace is in whose DNA...there should be justice to that country. A lot of time has passed," Modi said.

Earlier, Modi in his initial remarks said India and Germany are two countries that have earned the right to be permanent members of the UNSC.

"Our membership will also be beneficial to the world. We both would like to see tangible progress in the United Nations Security Council reforms during the 70th Anniversary year of the United Nations," he said.

India has been pitching for a permanent seat in the expanded membership of the UNSC, arguing that the existing body does not truly reflect the contemporary world realities.