A day after Hollywood actor Richard Gere kissed Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS awareness programme in Delhi, protests were witnessed in Varanasi, as Shilpa's fans burnt effigies of Gere.

Members of the Shilpa Shetty Fan Club took to the streets raising anti-Gere slogans. They later burnt an effigy of the actor demanding that Gere either apologise for his indecent conduct or else leave the country immediately.

"Shilpa Shetty conquered all racial swipes to win Big Brother in England, but the Hollywood actor -- by unnecessarily planting kisses on Shilpa's cheek -- has not only done disservice to the AIDS campaign but has also blemished the rich Indian culture," Iqbal, who led the Shilpa Shetty Fan Club, said.

Activists of the Vande Mataram Sangharsh Samiti followed suit by burning Gere's effigy near the Geeta Mandir at Godowlia.

Led by their convenor Anup Jaiswal, the activists of the organisation not only demanded that Gere leave India immediately, but also mocked Shilpa for not protesting the star's indecent behaviour on stage.

Shiv Sena activists led by Gulshan Kapoor also set Gere's effigy afire and demanded that he leave the country immediately.

The actor had planted kisses on Shilpa's cheeks at Seena Tan Ke, an AIDS awareness programme for truckdrivers in Delhi last evening.