Manmohan Singh at the 59th U.N. General Assembly session on Sept. 23. (Photo: Press Information Bureau)

NEW DELHI: India on Dec. 2 said it would not accept membership of the United Nations Security Council without veto power, as a high-level report suggested expanding the body without conceding the power to new members.

External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh told the Rajya Sabha: “Without a veto I do not think (membership of the Security Council) will be acceptable to the country.”

Rejecting reports that India may get into the council without veto power, Singh told the upper house of Parliament that media reports in this connection were “purely speculative.” Singh said New Delhi’s views on the subject were well known and India was working with Japan, Brazil and Germany in this regard. Stating that the expansion of the Security Council was an “extremely complicated issue with wide ramifications,” he said India would wait for the report on U.N. reforms from Secretary General Annan.