Association of Indian Magazines slams 'arbitrary' blocking of Vikatan website

The Association of India Magazines (AIM) on Tuesday (February 18) issued a statement calling out the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for allegedly blocking vikatan.com, a website run by Tamil news publication Ananda Vikatan.

According to AIM, the action was initiated following a complaint by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on February 15 regarding a political cartoon published in Vikatan Plus.

No prior notice: AIM

The AIM slammed the move and said the ministry blocked the entire website without any prior notice, hearing or formal order. Taking such a big decision merely on the basis of a political complaint is an attack on journalistic freedom, it said.

Also read: Tamil publication Ananda Vikatan's website allegedly shut down by Centre's orders

In a statement, the AIM said, “The immediate and swift action by MeitY on the same day is deeply disturbing. What is further shocking is that there was no notice issued to the publisher, no opportunity to be heard, and not even a formal order shared by MeitY before the entire website was blocked, purportedly in response to a mere complaint by the state head of the ruling party.”

The AIM called it a “blatant and draconian attack on press freedom.” The industry body highlighted how the IT Rules 2021 are yet under examination and have been stayed following numerous cases in multiple high courts, as well as the Supreme Court.

“Therefore it is quite shocking that while the rules are under challenge and have been stayed, such an inquiry has been initiated, not to mention, the order passed even before the due process,” stated AIM.

Website blocked

Meanwhile, The Hindu has reported, quoting sources, that the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, through a referral to the Department of Telecommunications, has blocked the website of Vikatan magazine.

Also read: Will NEP 'imposition' row trigger another anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu?

The action was taken after the magazine published a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi seated in chains beside US President Donald Trump, alluding to the deportation of immigrants who were flown to India chained.

Earlier, the website of 96-year-old Tamil news publication was reportedly shut down by Union government orders on February 16.

The publication said in a post on X: “For a century, Vikatan has consistently stood in support of freedom of expression. We have always operated with freedom of speech at the forefront and will continue to do so. If the website has indeed been blocked by the Central government due to this cover image, we want to make it clear that we will face it legally.”