Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals should be thrown out irrespective of religion: Raj Thackeray

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray said here on Saturday that the illegal immigrants from the Pakistan and Bangladesh should be thrown out of the country irrespective of their religion.

He said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is uncalled for as it will increase the burden on India which is allegedly not able to cater to the needs of its own people.

"India is not Dharamshala. People coming from Bangladesh and Pakistan should be thrown out. India had not taken the contract of humanity," said Raj Thackeray addressing press conference here on Saturday.

He said that the issue cannot be seen with a communal angle.

"You cannot take this as Hindu-Muslim issue whoever is from outside has to be thrown out," said Thackeray.

"We are unable to fulfil the requirement of our own people then why do we require people from other nations. The country with 130 crore people is not able to cater to the needs of its own people," he added.

He, however, said that the Act is discriminatory and Muslims have a reason to fear.

"There is a reason for any Muslim who is staying in India for years to feel insecure," he said.

Protests have intensified in various parts of the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was enacted into law on December 12, 2019.

The CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.