Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was compelled to remove protest photographs from his solo exhibition at Bikaner House. The management considered the images as 'objectionable' and also objected to their 'political nature'.
Photographer Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, stated that Bikaner House, a venue managed by the Rajasthan government in Delhi, forced him to remove protest photographs from his solo exhibition at the arts and cultural centre. According to Raihan Vadra, the management deemed his photographs as 'objectionable' due to their 'political nature'. He claimed that they also asked him to remove two photos of the national flag, which he refused. Additionally, the management removed one of the photographs of the Indian flag while he was absent. In a social media post, Raihan Vadra expressed his intention to find another venue and display the entire collection of protest photos. The show will open to the public on Thursday.
Raihan Vadra told PTI that the management objected to the political nature of the protest photos and stated it was not the right time for such images to be displayed. He said they were informed at 3:30 PM on the day of the exhibition if the images are not taken down by 5 PM, the show would be cancelled. Raihan Vadra added that he shared the proposal and layout of the show with the venue in advance, and it was incorrect to ask for half the artwork to be removed less than 24 hours before the opening of the show.
Scroll has requested comment from the Bikaner House management and Rajasthan’s resident commissioner in Delhi. This story will be updated if we receive a response.
In a social media post, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra expressed her pride in Raihan Vadra's work. She said that when someone with power becomes afraid of the expression of another, they have already lost the very power they are trying to protect.
Congress leader Pawan Khera criticized the actions taken by Bikaner House, stating that even 'the Tricolour is not safe from the censor’s scissors'. He questioned what exactly was the offence since the photographs merely documented protests and were not derogatory or inflammatory.
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