Pro-CAA rally held in Thane, BJP leaders take part

Several hundred people took part in a pro-Citizenship Amendment Act rally in Thane on Saturday evening. The march from Chintamani Chowk to Ghantali Maidan was led by former BJP Lok Sabha MP from neighboring Mumbai, Kirit Somaiya, and Thane unit BJP chief Sandeep Lele.

It was organized by the Rashtriya Metadata Manch, the Vishwas Samajik Sansta and other NGOs. People carried banners and shouted slogans in support of the CAA and denounced those indulging in violence in different parts of the country in the name of opposing it.

"This rally is against people who in the name of opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act are creating trouble across the country," Somaiya said. According to CAA, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there will not be treated as illegal immigrants, and be given Indian citizenship.