Within a day of the Tamil Nadu BJP petitioning L Murugan, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, seeking action against the popular magazine ‘Vikatan’ for what it called an offensive cartoon against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on its cover, the magazine’s website was blocked.

The website was blocked late on Friday night, inviting condemnation from across the political spectrum, with Chief Minister MK Stalin leading the state in condemning it as yet another example of the fascistic nature of the BJP and that it ill bodes for democracy.

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Demanding immediate restoration of the website, the Chief Minister in a social media post wrote, “Blocking media outlets for airing contrarian views bodes ill for democracy. It is yet another instance of the BJP exposing its fascist face.” DMK allies, including Vaiko, MP and others have condemned it.

Published in the magazine’s online journal, ‘Vikatan Plus’, the cartoon on the cover dated February 10, depicts Modi, sitting with American President Donals Trump, with his hands and legs remaining chained. Taking offence, BJP state president K Annamalai on Saturday dashed off two representations, one to the Chairman, Press Council of India and the other to L Murugan, MoS, Information and Broadcasting, demanding action ‘as soon as possible’. 

“For the last many years, Vikatan, under the garb of journalism, has been operating as a mouthpiece of the DMK, defaming the good work of the central government & our Honourable PM, often printing articles/cartoons that are figments of their imagination, and distorting the truth. Today’s cover picture has been deliberately published to paint a negative image of the entire diplomatic trip of our Honourable PM to please the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu, read the petition, maintaining that it was defamatory,” he said. The cover cartoon as well as similar cartoons in previous editions were enclosed with it.

Since late last night, Vikatan received complaints from readers that its website was not accessible. In a post on ‘X’, the Vikatan group, with a century-old legacy, said, “The government has not properly informed us about the blocking of our website. We will continue to function upholding freedom of expression as we have been for over a century. If the Union Government had blocked our website because of this cartoon in question, we would challenge it legally.”

In 1987, the late S Balasubramanian, editor of the magazine’s flagship publication, Ananda Vikatan, was arrested by the then AIADMK Government of MG Ramachandran for publishing a cartoon, depicting two donkeys barking outside the Tamil Nadu Assembly. His arrest was ordered by the then Speaker P H Pandian for transgressing the previlege of the House. Following public outrage and the High Court’s intervention, he was released and paid Re 1 as compensation. He kept it framed in his office as a memento.