‘Proud of you’: Priyanka Gandhi backs son Raihan, takes veiled dig at govt over exhibition row

New Delhi: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday backed her son, photographer Raihan Vadra, amid a row over the removal of photographs depicting recent protests in Delhi from his exhibition at Bikaner House, saying those who fear another person's expression have already lost the power they seek to protect.

In a post on X, Priyanka expressed pride in Raihan and said she would always stand by him.

The Congress leader's remarks came a day after Raihan alleged that the Bikaner House administration had asked him to remove several photographs of protests by young people in Delhi, including two images featuring the Indian Tricolour, ahead of the opening of his exhibition.

Raihan alleges 74 photographs were removed

Raihan's solo exhibition, titled No Idea Is Final, was scheduled to open at 7 pm on Thursday. He said the management had objected to photographs documenting protests over the previous six months and asked for them to be taken down.

According to Raihan, he was informed at 3.30 pm on Wednesday that the images had to be removed by 5 pm or the exhibition would be cancelled. He said he had shared the exhibition proposal and layout with the management well in advance.

Raihan alleged that around 74 photographs were removed, leaving the exhibition to proceed in a limited capacity. He maintained that the images documented events and did not carry a political message.

He also said he had refused to remove the photographs featuring the national flag and would seek an alternative venue to display the full collection.

The Bikaner House administration's position on the allegations was not available in the reports. A Bikaner House official told PTI that the administration was not authorised to comment.
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Robert Vadra, Pawan Khera also react

Priyanka's husband, Robert Vadra, had also shared his son's account of the incident on social media.

Congress leader Pawan Khera criticised the alleged removal of the photographs, arguing that the images documented protests rather than promoting an inflammatory message. He also questioned the reported objection to photographs featuring the Tricolour.

Priyanka had earlier described the reported removal of the photographs as “ridiculous” and an attempt to muzzle the voices of young people. “Today it's him, tomorrow it'll be another artist,” she added.
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What is the ‘No Idea Is Final’ exhibition?

No Idea Is Final is Raihan Vadra's solo photography exhibition at Bikaner House in New Delhi. The collection includes photographs documenting protests by young people in the capital over the past six months.

Raihan said he considered documenting the events part of his responsibility as an Indian artist. He also argued that art could not be separated from politics.

The dispute has drawn attention to questions about artistic expression and the display of politically sensitive work at public venues.