India, Oct. 27 -- India has asserted that any reform of the UN Security Council that creates a new category of permanent members without veto powers would effectively relegate them to "second-class" status, leaving the existing five permanent powers in control of decision-making.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni, said on Monday that the veto must be held by all permanent members of a reformed Council for as long as the provision exists, adding that fairness and justice demand equal rights and responsibilities for them. He was speaking at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) plenary of the UN General Assembly during the cluster debate on the question of the veto.

China, France, Russia, the U...