Jaswant Singh raises Syria issue in Lok Sabha

As the United States mulls attacking Syria, senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh Wednesday criticized the western powers for acting as "global policemen".

Raising the issue during zero hour in the Lok Sabha, he said that while civil wars are "brutally uncivil", no country should be allowed to don the role of global policeman without the sanction of the United Nations.

Jaswant Singh said it was time India spoke in a stronger and sounder voice against policing by the west.

Terming Great Britain as "Little Britain", he criticised the assertion of its Prime Minister David Cameron that he had consulted his Indian counterpart over action against Syria.

Referring to the Indian government stand, Jaswant Singh said External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid was "affable, but not so able".

Khurshid, who was present in the House, was seen smiling at this remark.

Jaswant Singh said the US had turned parts of Asia into desert after it entered the continent first in Korea decades ago.

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has reached an agreement on a resolution authorising military action in Syria, setting a time limit and barring US ground troops in the war-torn country.