Stones were pelted at Communist Party of India leader Kanhaiya Kumar’s convoy in Saran district of Bihar on Saturday, The Times of India reported. Windscreens of vehicles in the convoy were smashed in the incident, and one person’s hand was injured. However, Kumar was unhurt.

Two of the 12 vehicles in the convoy were damaged in the incident, which took place in Kopa Chatti village. Kumar was on his way from West Champaran to Chhapra to address a public meeting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens, as part of a yatra. The yatra will conclude at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on February 29.

Chhapra Sadar Sub-Divisional Police Officer Ajay Kumar said the police team that was assigned to protect Kumar intervened and chased the attackers, who were shouting pro-Citizenship Amendment Act slogans. He said a complaint was filed against unidentified persons.

Earlier in the day, the police took Ajay Singh, the husband of Siwan Janata Dal (United) MP Kavita Singh, into detention as a precautionary measure.

Following the stone-pelting incident, Kumar addressed the meeting at Hawai Adda Maidan in Chhapra where he assailed the Narendra Modi-led government for passing the new citizenship law. The former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president also asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to pass resolutions against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in the state Assembly.

Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC

The Citizenship Amendment Act provides citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, provided they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014. The Act has been widely criticised for excluding Muslims. At least 28 people have died in protests against the Act since December.

The government also wants to conduct NRC across India to identify undocumented immigrants. Its critics fear that the amended law, clubbed with the National Register of Citizens, will be misused to target Muslims since the Citizenship Act now has religion as a criterion.