CHENNAI: After BJP’s complaint to the Centre against a Tamil digital magazine alleging it published a cartoon showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an offensive manner, the magazine said its portal is inaccessible to its readers and Chief Minister M K Stalin and leaders of political parties condemned the “blocking” of the website.
The magazine said in a social media post that there have been numerous reports stating that the Vikatan website has been blocked by the central government. It said: “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.”
Further, it said: “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 said it was trying to ascertain the reasons behind the blocking of its website and that it was taking up the matter with the union information ministry. PTI
