Raihan Vadra's photo expo faces row; Robert Vadra vows to find venue

Robert Vadra backed his son Raihan after his photo exhibition faced objections at Bikaner House. He vowed to find a new venue, stating his son's talent can't be stopped. Congress leaders slammed the BJP, accusing them of censoring expression.

Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and father of Raihan Vadra, on Thursday expressed pride in his son after the latter's photography exhibition faced objections at Bikaner House, saying that the family would find another venue to display his work.

Vadra said he was unsure whether Bikaner House's decision was related to the Rajasthan government or was due to other pressures. He added that his son would not be stopped from showcasing his talent.

'We Will Find Another Location'

Speaking to ANI, Vadra said, "I am very proud of Raihan. He has seen what the whole family goes through and has gone through, and what his father has gone through. So, he is a very strong person, a very strong-headed person. He will find another location, and we will do it at another location.”

"I don't know whether Bikaner House's decision is related to the Rajasthan government or what the pressures are, but a young boy cannot be stopped from displaying his talent. So, we will have to find another venue to showcase his talent, and those pictures will be displayed. Nobody will be able to stop us from displaying them anywhere at all," he said.

'Pictures Not Controversial'

Vadra also maintained that the photographs were not controversial and instead reflected Raihan's perspective and creativity.

"The pictures are not controversial in any way. They simply reflect his mindset and his creative side. When he was actually there at the protest, he took those pictures, and they are not controversial in any way. They had been informed about this in advance," he added.

Vadra said it was “very unfortunate” that Raihan Vadra’s photography exhibition faced objections at Bikaner House despite submitting the required PDF containing all the artworks in advance. He added that the administration had a week to raise any concerns before the exhibition was accepted and invitations were sent to people from the creative industry.

“It is very unfortunate that, after submitting a PDF file as per the protocol, this has happened. He has been doing exhibitions for the last six or seven years, and Bikaner House has been a platform he has used many times. He understands the sensitivities and protocols and always provides a PDF file containing all the content that will be displayed,” he said.

“The administration at Bikaner House had a whole week to decide whether it had any objections to any particular picture or anything like that. But after accepting the exhibition, he invited everyone. He had people who buy his photographs, people who wanted to include them in a catalogue, and people interested in displaying them in their hotels and other places where he supplies and sells his work. People from different parts of the creative world were invited,” Vadra said.

Raihan Vadra had alleged that the management of Bikaner House had objected to photographs depicting protests by young people in Delhi and had also instructed him to remove two images featuring the Indian Tricolour. The exhibition, titled 'No Idea Is Final', was scheduled to open at 7 pm on Thursday.

Congress Leaders Slam BJP

Further, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot lashed out at the BJP amid a row over Raihan Vadra's art exhibition, saying that the ruling party has exposed their "insecurities" by silencing expressions.

"Silencing expression is what the BJP does best. But in doing so, they have only exposed their own insecurities. A government that fears freedom of speech and expression has forgotten the very essence of democracy. The power of truth and courage will always prevail," Pilot posted on X.

Moreover, Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the government would rather censor reality than confront it since it has become afraid of "inconvenient truths".

"The government has become so afraid of inconvenient truths that it would rather censor reality than confront it. Articles, photographs, artworks, books — anything that challenges its carefully manufactured narrative is silenced," Khera posted on X.

He added that censorship can't make reality disappear.

"The irony is that every attempt to suppress an idea only draws more attention to what the government is so desperate to hide. Censorship cannot make reality disappear; it only exposes a regime terrified of what people might see," Khera said.

(ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)