India today pushed for inclusion of the "sustained support for terrorism and radical extremism" as one of the grounds for disqualification of a member state from the Commonwealth.<br/><br/><br/>An official source said there are currently eight grounds on which the Commonwealth can take action against a member country, including violation of democratic values and good governance.<br/><br/><br/>At the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meet in London today , India stressed that this must be expanded to nine, to include "sustained support for terrorism and radical extremism".<br/><br/><br/>India was also successful in keeping action against Bangladesh off the agenda against Pakistan's concerted efforts at the CMAG meeting, where India is being represented by Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar.<br/><br/><br/>Talking to PTI Mr Akbar said the Commonwealth should not just be an exercise in meetings between governments and it must become more people-centric. Making a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first speech in Parliament, he articulated the government's vision as poverty elimination over poverty alleviation.<br/><br/><br/>Earlier addressing an audience of MPs and peers at the House of Commons complex in London yesterday Mr. Akbar has expressed dismay at the UN's continued struggle to find a definition for terrorism since 1996. <br/><br/>He said there seems to be more cooperation between terror groups than the countries fighting them.<br/><br/>Singling out terrorism as the one major obstacle to a path to economic prosperity, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said that India will not allow the forces of violence in its neighbourhood to succeed. He said the world must recognise, participate and join India in this battle. <br/>'<br/>
News On AIR | March 17, 2017 11:33 PM
India expresses dismay over UN's struggle to define terrorism