CHENNAI: Tamil weekly Vikatan's website was reportedly inaccessible on Saturday, hours after BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief K. Annamalai said the party had complained to the Press Council of India (PCI) and the Union government over a cartoon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The publication, late in the night, posted a message on X stating that several news outlets were reporting its website was blocked but it had not received any official notification from the centre.
“Vikatan has stood in support of freedom of expression for a century. In case the site has been blocked by the centre because of the cartoon, we will fight it legally,” it added.
TNIE was able to access the website.
The Chennai Press Club, in a statement, condemned the incident and added that it would stand with Vikatan.
The Tamil daily, in its Feb.13 edition, had published a cartoon of PM Modi in handcuffs alongside former US President Donald Trump in its digital magazine, criticising the inhumane deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US in handcuffs—an incident that sparked nationwide.
The cartoon drew criticism from BJP supporters, and Annamalai said the party had petitioned the PCI and MoS for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, urging action against the magazine.
In his complaint, Annamalai said the cartoon was a deliberate portrayal aimed at tarnishing the diplomatic significance of the PM’s US visit and appeasing the DMK government in TN. His complaint charged that such a depiction violates journalistic ethics and urged the ministry to initiate suitable action against them.