Chennai, 16 Feb

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 MK 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 (10 Feb, 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.

Chief Minister Stalin said blocking the media outlet for its opinions went against democratic norms and condemned it. "This is an example of the BJP's fascist nature," he alleged and urged the Centre to restore the website.

Tamil Nadu Congress President K Selvaperunthagai was among the leaders who condemned the alleged action by the Centre. TVK chief Vijay said the action was tantamount to crippling freedom of expression.

Reacting to CM Stalin's criticism, BJP vice president Narayanan Thirupathy asked whether the chief minister was aware of 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," the BJP leader said.

Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai on 15 February wrote to Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan, seeking suitable action against Vikatan magazine for its "cover picture aimed at defaming PM Modi" and also explained the cartoon's features and termed it offensive.

"Freedom of press does not give a licence to a newspaper to malign a political leader by publishing fake and defamatory writings," Annamalai said in his plaint. The Tamil Nadu BJP top leader said two separate representations had been sent; one to the chairperson of the Press Council of India and another to Union Minister Murugan seeking prompt action against Vikatan magazine "for being a mouthpiece of the DMK and for publishing offensive and baseless content," against PM Modi.