India took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council Thursday for December \u2014 the month this South Asian country will also complete its two-year term as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation body.<\/p>\n
It is the second time India has held the council \u2018s presidency, which rotates on a monthly basis in alphabetical order. In August 2021, the then Indian Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, now retired, misused his powers as president to deny Pakistan, which is not a Council member, its right to participate in a debate on the situation in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram reacted sharply to the Indian move to block Pakistan, saying, \u201cIndia\u2019s partisan and obstructionist action is a manifestation of its hatred for Pakistan\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
At a press conference to outline the programme of work for the month, India\u2019s Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that her country will host \u201csignature events\u201d on countering terrorism and renewed orientation for reformed multilateralism.<\/p>\n
She said Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will travel to New York to preside over the debates in mid-December.<\/p>\n
In her remarks to reporters, Ms. Kamboj highlighted India\u2019s democratic credential and its role as a \u201cbridge builder\u201d in international affairs, but appeared irritated when a correspondent questioned about the decline in democracy and press freedom under the present government. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to be told what to do on democracy,\u201d the Indian envoy retorted.<\/p>\n
In India, she added, democracy had roots going back to 2500 years. \u201cComing down to very recent times, we have all the pillars of democracy that are intact\u2013 legislature, executive, judiciary and the fourth estate, the press. And a very vibrant social media. So the country is the world\u2019s largest democracy, Ms. Kamboj claimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery five years we conduct the world\u2019s largest democratic exercise,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is free to say as they wish and please and that is how our country functions. It\u2019s rapidly reforming, transforming and changing. And the trajectory has been very impressive. And I don\u2019t have to say this, you don\u2019t have to listen to me. Others are saying this,\u201d Ms. Kamboj added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India took over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council Thursday for December \u2014 the month this South Asian country will also complete its two-year term as a non-permanent member of the 15-nation body. It is the second time India has held the council \u2018s presidency, which rotates on a monthly basis in alphabetical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-298828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n