UN Security Council, an old club with set of members who don't want to be questioned: EAM Jaishankar
Bengaluru, Dec 17: Expressing his displeasure over India not getting permanent membership in the UN Security Council, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said the UN Security Council is like an old club with a set (of) members who do not want to let go of their grip and not keen to have their practices questioned.
He also said that the countries in the world want reform of the UN because it is not fair if "You don't want to change the original promoters of the business.".
"The UN Security Council is like an old club where there are a set (of) members who don't want to let go of the grip. They want to keep control over the club and not keen to admit more members and are not keen to have their practices questioned," Jaishankar said during an interaction after a lecture on the topic A decade of change', organised by the Rotary Institute.
Replying to a question on when India will get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, Jaishankar said, "In a way it's a human failing, but I think today it is harming the world because of the key issues confronting the world and the UN getting less and less effective."
Speaking about global sentiment, he said the nations in the world are keen on reforms in the UN.
"If you ask the 200 countries of the world that do you want reform or you don't want reform? They will say yes, we want reform because that was invented at a time when the membership of the UN was about 50 countries. Imagine a business which has grown four times. Yet you don't want to change the original promoter of the business. It's not fair," the minister said.
He said there is a realisation that India should be a permanent member of the UN.
"I think there is a realisation of that. I am sure it will happen. We will keep at it but I do believe that history is on our side in that regard," he added.
Regarding the future of BRICS, Jaishankar said it will grow and gain influence as six more members will join next time.
"I think it will grow. It will gain influence and members because we have agreed to expand the BRICS by six more the next time we meet," he said.
Explaining the reason behind its possible growth, he said the world is a diverse place where there are about 200 countries and many cultures.
"What has happened over a period of time is that the domination of some countries and some cultures is tended to suppress others. Not everybody got the due say, the due weight, the due role, and what BRICS tried to do was Hey look. We are there. The world cannot be run by seven countries, which are from one part of the continent or two of them'," the minister said.
According to him, BRICS, in a way, is a message of diversity, a message of independence, the natural expression of cultures, economies and politics of the world.
"I think history in that sense would go in that direction and I think BRICS will go a long way," he added.
The grouping took shape in September 2006 and it originally comprised Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC). It was renamed as BRICS after South Africa was accepted as a full member in September 2010.
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Raj Thackeray questions need for NEET, demands Pradhan’s resignation
Mumbai (PTI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday questioned the need for NEET-UG and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi seek the resignation of Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan.
Thackeray's demand comes amid massive protests over the cancellation of the examination following allegations of paper leak.
The MNS chief said the government is so “obsessed” with bringing everything under a centralised authority that it appears to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into “disarray”.
In a post on X, Thackeray said that for several years now, a single individual (Pradhan) has remained entrenched in the position of Union education minister. Despite numerous “irregularities” and “scandals” within the NEET framework during his tenure, this “gentleman” continues to occupy the post, he said.
“One wonders: has he been rewarded with this continued tenure because he is so zealously pursuing the agenda of imposing the Hindi language across the entire nation? I earnestly appeal to the Prime Minister: please demand the immediate resignation of this Minister of yours, who has repeatedly toyed with the lives and future of 22 lakh students,” Thackeray said.
The National Testing Agency on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”. The examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges will now be held afresh on dates to be notified separately.
Thackeray said the Centre continues its tradition of creating “chaos” in every matter and holding the public to ransom. The “NEET paper leak” has proved this once again, he said.
Thackeray sought to know what the Centre did when it found out the alleged malpractice. It merely cancelled the examination and ordered a CBI inquiry, he said.
In 2024, a CBI inquiry was ordered in a similar case, but nothing substantial was achieved through it, he said.
The government projects an air of having fulfilled its duty in all of this. But what about the lives of 22 lakh students and their families, who have been left hanging in the balance, he asked.
Thackeray said fundamentally, there was no need to “impose” NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test)-UG back in 2016.
“However, this government’s obsession with bringing everything under a single, centralised authority is so intense that, to them, it seems to make no difference if the lives of hundreds of thousands of people are thrown into disarray,” he said.
The MNS chief also asked ministers within the Maharashtra government to show some “spine” and join voices with those of the southern states and oppose this system.
Thackeray said leaders from the southern states have voiced their opposition in much the same way as he. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has also demanded the cancellation of NEET. The reason for this is that the five southern states, combined with Maharashtra, collectively possess over 350 medical colleges, whereas the large states in the north have only 180 medical colleges, he said.
Consequently, this persistent push that began in 2016 is essentially an attempt to facilitate the “entry of students from the north into medical colleges in the south”, alleged Thackeray. To ensure this, the largest network of coaching classes has been established in the northern states, he claimed.
