Thaindian News

Mumbai, Feb 3 (IANS) Around 200 journalists Friday held a demonstration at Azad Maidan of the city to protest the frequent attacks on scribes and media houses in Maharashtra, an official said.

Wearing helmets and holding posters with a message that said “Press Freedom has no meaning without protective law for journalists”, the scribes demanded that a law protecting them against such attacks be brought into force as soon as possible.

“We demand that a strong law against attack on journalists and media houses be brought in force at the earliest. We will also hold a similar demonstration in New Delhi May 1,” said S.M. Deshmukh, convenor of Patrakar Halla Virodhi Samiti.

He said 212 journalists have been attacked in the past two and a half years. “Apart from attacks, 11 journalists have been killed in the last 25 years in Maharashtra alone, 36 media houses have been attacked and vandalised in the last 10 years.”

“This is unacceptable and it has to stop. Unless there is a law that protects the journalists, the phrase ‘press freedom’ has no meaning,” Deshmukh said.

A delegation of journalists met Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Tuesday to discuss action for the attack on the Times of India office last week.

Over 50 angry Shiv Sena activists stormed into the Times Of India building here and damaged furniture and fittings in the reception areas of the newspaper office.

They were protesting against a report published in the Maharashtra Times, the Marathi language daily of the Times of India Group, allegedly speculating that Shiv Sena MP from Amravati, Anandrao Adsul, was planning to defect to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).