Chennai: After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lodged a complaint with the central government against Tamil digital magazine 'Vikatan' for allegedly publishing a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an offensive manner, the magazine has claimed that its website is now inaccessible to readers.

Chief Minister M K Stalin and leaders from various political parties have condemned the alleged blocking of the website, calling it an attack on press freedom.

The magazine, in a social media post, stated that there have been multiple reports indicating that its website has been blocked by the central government.

"Many users from different locations have reported that they are unable to access the Vikatan website. However, as of now, there has been no official announcement from the central government regarding the blocking of the Vikatan website," the publication said.

Vikatan further elaborated on the issue, stating: "Earlier, Vikatan Plus, the digital magazine of Vikatan, published a cover cartoon (Feb 10, Monday) highlighting the issue of Indians being handcuffed and deported from the United States while Prime Minister Modi remained silent on the matter. This cartoon was criticised by BJP supporters, and BJP state president K. Annamalai reportedly lodged a complaint against Vikatan with the central government."

Asserting its commitment to freedom of expression, the magazine stated that it was investigating the reason behind the website's inaccessibility and was engaging with the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on the matter.

Political reactions

Chief Minister M K Stalin strongly criticised the alleged blocking of Vikatan’s website, stating that suppressing media outlets for expressing their opinions was undemocratic. "This is an example of the BJP's fascist nature," Stalin alleged, urging the Centre to restore access to the website immediately.

Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai also condemned the Centre’s alleged move, calling it an attack on press freedom. TVK chief Vijay echoed similar sentiments, stating that the Centre’s actions amounted to "crippling freedom of expression."

BJP defends complaint

Reacting to Stalin's criticism, BJP vice president Narayanan Thirupathy countered by questioning whether the chief minister understood the concept of freedom of expression.

"Please talk about freedom of expression after reading the list of persons who were arrested during the past four years for criticising you and your government," he said, referring to the DMK government’s record on handling dissent.

Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai, in a letter dated February 15 to Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L. Murugan, demanded action against Vikatan magazine for its "cover picture aimed at defaming PM Modi."

Annamalai detailed the cartoon's features in his complaint, deeming it offensive. "Freedom of press does not give a licence to a newspaper to malign a political leader by publishing fake and defamatory writings," he stated in his letter.

He further revealed that two separate complaints had been submitted—one to the chairperson of the Press Council of India and another to Union Minister Murugan—urging swift action against Vikatan magazine. The BJP leader accused Vikatan of acting as "a mouthpiece of the DMK" and "publishing offensive and baseless content" targeting the Prime Minister.

Awaiting official clarification

As of now, there has been no official statement from the central government regarding the alleged blocking of the Vikatan website. Meanwhile, political tensions continue to escalate over press freedom and censorship concerns in Tamil Nadu.

PTI