Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday voiced support for her son, Raihan R Vadra, after he alleged that authorities had asked him to remove certain photographs related to the Delhi protests, including an image of the national flag, from his exhibition scheduled to open on Thursday at the Bikaner House in the capital.
In a post on X, Priyanka shared a message about freedom of expression, saying that those in positions of power weaken their own authority when they fear others expressing themselves.
“When someone with power becomes afraid of the expression of another, he doesn’t know it, but he has already lost the very power he is trying to protect. You stand for what is true and everything beautiful will find its way to you. I am proud of you, always will be” her post read.
Deep Dive
What photographs did Raihan Vadra say Bikaner House asked him to remove?
Why did Robert Vadra say the intervention at Raihan’s exhibition was shocking?
Will Raihan Vadra display the full collection of protest photographs?
Reacting to the incident, Robert Vadra, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband and Raihan’s father, said his son had faced considerable pressure to remove the photographs just two hours before the exhibition was scheduled to open.
{{/usCountry}}Reacting to the incident, Robert Vadra, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s husband and Raihan’s father, said his son had faced considerable pressure to remove the photographs just two hours before the exhibition was scheduled to open.
{{/usCountry}}“There was a lot of pressure on him to remove everything, and this happened just two hours before the opening of his exhibition. It was shocking because the authorities had received the PDF file a week in advance and had been informed about the exhibition” he said.
Describing the last-minute intervention as shocking, Robert questioned why the situation had changed without any explanation. He also praised Raihan for going ahead with the exhibition despite the removal of several photographs, adding that the invited guests had attended the event.
Noting that Bikaner House comes under the Rajasthan government, Robert said politics should not be mixed with the creative world and stressed that everyone should be allowed to express themselves in a democracy.
Priyanka and Robert's reaction comes after Raihan alleged that the exhibition management sought to remove specific photographs.
"Five hours ago, the management of Bikaner House compelled me to remove most of the artworks from my exhibition, 'No Idea Is Final,' which is scheduled to open this evening at 7 pm. The images in question depicted protests carried out by young people in Delhi. Evidently, the management found the content of these images 'objectionable.' They also instructed me to remove two images featuring the Tricolour," the statement read.
Also Read: Priyanka Gandhi's son Raihan alleges Bikaner House pulled down his protest pics ahead of exhibition
Raihan said he had declined to remove the photograph featuring the Indian national flag, adding that the exhibition would continue with a limited selection of works for now. He said he would seek an alternative venue to showcase the complete collection of photographs documenting the protests.
“I have refused to do so; I will not remove the image of the Indian flag. For now, the exhibition will proceed in a limited capacity, but I will look for an alternative venue where I can display the entire collection of photographs related to the protests,” he said in the post.