Media heckled at Anupam Kher-led rally

NEW DELHI: Some media persons were heckled by participants in the march organised by actor Anupam Kher to counter the protests by writers and artistes against "rising intolerance" in the country.

The 'March For India' rally from National Museum to Rashtrapati Bhavan was also joined by filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, Ashoke Pandit, Priyadarshan, Manoj Joshi, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and writer Madhu Kishwar among others.

But the protest turned ugly when some people started shouting anti-media slogans and heckled the journalists.

"A bunch of people were shouting and calling the media biased. They said we practice selective journalism. They heckled us," a reporter from a leading news channel said.

The marchers reached Rashtrapati Bhavan to hand over a memorandum signed by more than 90 personalities including actress Vidya Balan, Shekhar Kapoor, Kamal Haasan Raveena Tandon, to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Criticising people returning their National Award, Kher alleged that the "award-wapsi" campaign was to defame the country by projecting a "wrong" picture of the situation.

"India is a very tolerant country. Some people have coined the term 'growing intolerance'. They are very few. Not every Indian thinks like that. We are secular people. We do not believe in pseudo-secularism, selective outrage or selective patriotism," Kher, who is the spouse of BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher, said.