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Everything You Need To Know About Blocking Vikatan Website

Vikatan, one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest media houses, will turn 100 next year.

Vikatan Website Edited by
Everything You Need To Know About Blocking Vikatan Website

Everything You Need To Know About Blocking Vikatan Website (image-x/@Vijayasankar_FL)

A cartoon published by the Tamil media group Vikatan resulted in its website being blocked just hours after BJP cadres voiced their protest.

The cartoon, published on February 10, depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting shackled next to former U.S. President Donald Trump. According to a statement released on February 16, Vikatan said the cartoon had been “criticized by BJP supporters,” and BJP state president K. Annamalai had reportedly lodged a complaint against Vikatan with the central government.

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However, the media house clarified that it had not received any official communication from the Union government regarding the website’s blocking. Meanwhile, many X users reported being unable to access the site.

Vikatan, one of Tamil Nadu’s oldest media houses, will turn 100 next year.

“There have been numerous reports stating that the Vikatan website has been blocked by the central government. Many users from different locations have reported that they are unable to access it. However, as of now, there has been no official announcement from the central government regarding the blocking of the website,” Vikatan said in an official statement.

Following the controversy, Annamalai tweeted on February 15 that the BJP state unit had submitted a representation to the Press Council of India and another to L. Murugan, the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, urging “prompt action against Vikatan magazine for being a mouthpiece of the DMK and for publishing offensive and baseless content” against Modi.

In his complaint, he alleged that the media house had deliberately published the cartoon to “paint a negative image of the entire diplomatic trip of our Honourable PM to please the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu and cast a shadow on the diplomatic progress made by our Honourable Prime Minister Thiru Narendra Modi.”

He further argued that freedom of speech “does not give newspapers the right to publish untrue facts about an institution or individual, even on a lighter note,” adding that “objective reporting” must not “jeopardize friendly bilateral relations.”

Commenting on the controversy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin tweeted that blocking media for expressing opinions is detrimental to democracy.

Notably, this is not the first time the government has been accused of targeting the media. In February 2024, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordered The Caravan to take down its story Screams from the Army Post within 24 hours under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The story detailed allegations of torture of civilians by the Indian Army in the heavily militarized region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Here is the full statement released by Vikatan reaffirming its commitment to free speech:

“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. 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 criticized by BJP supporters, and BJP state president Annamalai reportedly lodged a complaint against Vikatan with the central government. In this situation, several readers have reported that they are unable to access the Vikatan website. However, there has been no official confirmation from government sources about the website being blocked.

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For nearly a century, Vikatan has stood firmly in support of freedom of expression. We have always operated with the principle of upholding free speech and will continue to do so. We are still trying to ascertain the reasons behind the blocking of our website and are in the process of taking up this matter with the ministry.”

Topics
BJP DMK free speech Tamil Nadu Vikatan Website

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