CPI-M supports 'maximum autonomy' for Kashmir

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Saturday said the Central government had failed to solve the Kashmir issue and supported "maximum autonomy" for the troubled state as its problems "can't be resolved through conventional means".

In his inaugural speech at the CPI-M's four-day central committee meeting in this Andhra Pradesh city, party general secretary, Mr Prakash Karat, made a specific reference to Kashmir and said the Central government has failed to solve the issue and tide over the alienation of Kashmiri youth.

"A solution can be found only if there is recognition that the problem of Kashmir cannot be resolved through conventional means. The people of Kashmir have to be assured that their identity and special status is expressed through a new political framework in which maximum autonomy is the bedrock," Mr Karat said.

Referring to unending protests and violence in the Kashmir Valley for the past nearly two months, the CPI-M general secretary said: "Distressingly, scores of young men and women have died due to police firing and actions."

He stated that the civilian killings — nearly 50 in three weeks — "have brought out the intensity of alienation among the young people against the Indian state in the valley. There has to be a stop to this endless cycle of confrontations and killings.

The central government, he said, has to immediately initiate the process of dialogue with all sections in the valley.