Priyanka Gandhi's son Raihan says asked to remove protest photos from Delhi exhibition: '50% of artworks'

Raihan Vadra said he was asked to remove images documenting recent protests in the Capital; they were absent when the exhibition opened on Wednesday.

Raihan Vadra, the son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and businessman Robert Vadra, alleged on Wednesday that he was asked to remove some photographs from his exhibition hours before it was scheduled to open at Bikaner House in New Delhi.

The photographs were part of Raihan Vadra’s exhibition, “No Idea is Final”, which features wildlife and street photography at Bikaner House. (Ram Rahman/ HT Photo)

The photographs were part of his exhibition, “No Idea is Final”, which features wildlife and street photography. Vadra said he was asked to remove images documenting recent protests in the Capital; they were absent when the exhibition opened on Wednesday.

Asked to remove ‘50% of artworks’

“Yesterday [Tuesday] I was contacted by the management of Bikaner House raising objections towards the ‘political nature’ of the protest images and was requested to remove them,” Vadra, 26, wrote in a statement that he circulated at the opening of the exhibition.

Despite this, Vadra alleged, he was asked to remove “50% of the artworks”.

He alleged that Rohit Kumar, the principal resident commissioner of Bikaner House, toured the rooms where the photographs were displayed before purportedly “calling the Rajasthan chief secretary” and another officer at the chief minister’s office. “[They] finally informed me that I would have to remove all works deemed by him to be political by 3.30pm today, failing which the show would stand cancelled,” he wrote.

Bikaner House is owned and managed by the Rajasthan government. Rajasthan chief secretary V Srinivas did not respond to requests for comment by the time of going to print

Vadra also said he was asked to remove two photographs depicting the Indian flag, which he refused to do. “I will not take down a photo of the Indian flag.”

He said the exhibition would continue until October 25, as planned, but that he would soon display the entire collection at another venue.

Priyanka Vadra termed it ridiculous and “muzzling” of the voice of the youth across the nation. “Today it’s him, tomorrow it’ll be another artist,” she was quoted as saying by PTI. “I think it’s ridiculous… He is a young boy… they are muzzling the voice of the youth across the nation. So, it’s only expected that they’ll do it to anyone,” she said.