Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Wednesday alleged that the management of Bikaner House in New Delhi asked him to remove a large number of artworks documenting student protests and other demonstrations from his exhibition, No Idea Is Final, hours before its scheduled opening.
In a post on Instagram, Raihan said the management had objected to the content of the photographs and directed him to remove two images of the Indian national flag. He said he had refused to take down the flag photographs and that the exhibition would proceed in part as planned.
"Five hours ago, the Bikaner House Management forced me to remove the bulk of the artworks displayed in my show "No Idea Is Final", which opens this evening at 7 pm. The photos were of the youth protests in Delhi. Apparently, the content is "objectionable". They also directed me to remove two photos of the Tiranga. I have refused. I will not take down a picture of the Indian flag," he wrote.
Raihan added that he would consider moving the exhibition to another venue if necessary to display the complete collection of protest photographs.
Congress leaders question removal of artworks
Senior Congress leader and Chairman of the All India Congress Committee's Media and Publicity Department, Pawan Khera, criticised the alleged action, claiming that 74 artworks, nearly half the exhibition, had been removed because they were considered "political".
"When even the Tricolour isn't safe from the censor's scissors, perhaps the problem isn't the art. It's the regime. Just hours before @raihanrvadra was to open his art show 'No Idea Is Final ', 74 artworks - nearly half the exhibition - were taken down for being 'political ' by the Bikaner House. The photographs merely documented protests, and not one was derogatory or inflammatory. So what exactly was the offence?" he said.
Khera also claimed that Raihan had to fight to retain a photograph of the national flag, describing the remaining exhibition space as a depiction of censorship.
"One of the works Raihaan had to 'fight' to retain was a photograph of the Indian flag. Otherwise, the walls meant for art were left with nothing but exposed iron nails, gleaming under the spotlights - a chilling metaphor for censorship. Imagine a government so threatened by ideas that not just protests, but even photographs of protests - and the Tricolour itself - have become intolerable. The end must be close," he said.
Karti Chidambaram, IYC Legal Cell condemn alleged censorship
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram also criticised the Bikaner House administration's alleged move, describing its conduct as "obtuse" and "churlish".
Chidambaram wrote on X, "Absolutely churlish & obtuse behaviour by the establishment which controls Bikaner House."
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) Legal Cell also weighed in against the alleged removal of the artworks.
In a post on X, it said, "IYC Legal Cell's tweet: YOU CAN CENSOR THE FRAME. NOT THE TRUTH. Saheb dara hua hai (sir is scared)."
The allegations concern the removal of photographs documenting protests from Raihan's exhibition ahead of its scheduled opening. The claims made by Raihan and Congress leaders were not accompanied by a response from the Bikaner House management in the information provided.
(With inputs from ANI)