Madhya Pradesh chief minister slams Kashmir autonomy report

Jammu, Dec 27 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Sunday slammed the Prime Minister's Working Group report on centre-state relations vis- and #65533;-vis Jammu and Kashmir, describing it as against the "national interest".

Speaing at a function of Panun Kashmir, an organisation of the migrant Kashmiri Pandits who fled the Valley due to a series of selective killings in 1989-1990, Chouhan said: "The report runs against the national interest, as it does not take into account the interests of the religious minorities."

"We reject this report outright," Chouhan said, calling for a complete integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country.

He also supported the demand of a separate homeland for Kashmiri Hindus in the Valley.

The report, calling for restoration of autonomy or an almost complete sovereignty for Jammu and Kashmir within the Indian Union, has evoked strong emotions among all parties in the state and rest of the country, excepting the National Conference which has welcomed the recommendations.