The rally, organised by Press Club of India (PCI), also included artistes from various socio-cultural groups like `iNishant Natya Manch' and `Sahmat'.

Raising anti-government slogans, the protestors also turned back Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee who came to attend the protest rally.

"Mamata Banerjee, go back. It is our protest and we don't want any political figure to be part of our protest," they shouted.

Defending her presence, Banerjee said that she came to the venue at the invitation of the Press Club. "You don't have to shout like this. I came here on the invitation of PCI," she said.

Sensing the mood, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechuri hurriedly left the site.

However, before leaving, Yechuri said his party was to raise the issue in Parliament today but ``as it wasadjourned, they were not able to do so."

Senior journalist and PCI president A R Wig went on a day's token hunger strike to protest against the killings of several journalists in the recent past.

In a memorandum, the protestors appealed to President K R Narayanan to advise the Government to initiate quick action to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

"The increasing inability of the police to trace the persons responsible for such attacks all over the country perhaps indicates the vitiation of the structure of power and administration," the memorandum said.

Hussain's body was found in a ditch in the Ghazipur area of East Delhi last week.

INS asks Government to safeguard lives of mediapersons

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) today condemned the murder of cartoonist Irfan Hussain and asked the Government to take steps to safeguard the lives of mediapersons.

"A free press cannot be cowed down by such acts perpetrated by hooligans and the authorities owe it to society to affordadequate protection to media personnel who are seekers of truth," M P Veerendrakumar, Chairman, Press Freedom Committee, INS, said.

In a letter to the Home Minister, Veerendrakumar has urged him to take immediate steps to apprehend the culprits and take adequate preventive measures to safeguard lives of mediapersons, "who face grave risk when they live up to their calling in fearlessly reporting events as they happen."

He asserted that the press would continue to play its designated role and not succumb to any pressure despite threats, according to an INS release here.

Deploring the increasing tendency of groups of people to take the law into their hands in reaction to something that a newspaper has published, he said it was unfortunate that the route adopted was to subject mediapersons to wanton physical assaults or inflict damage to properties and equipment of newspaper establishments.

"Such actions strike a blow at the very roots of our democratic polity," he said.