Raihan Vadra exhibition controversy: Gehlot terms photo removal ‘censorship’

Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot accused the BJP government of stifling artistic freedom after photographs from Raihan Vadra's exhibition were removed at Bikaner House in Delhi. Gehlot termed the move an attack on democracy and censorship, while Raihan Vadra claimed the images merely documented recent protests and carried no political message.

Jaipur: Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday attacked the BJP government over the Raihan Vadra art show row, calling it a direct “attack” on democracy and clear example of “censorship”.

Artist and photographer Raihan Vadra, the son of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Robert Vadra, on Wednesday said the Bikaner House administration in the national capital pulled down many of his pictures of the recent Delhi protests ahead of a solo exhibition.

---

Targeting the BJP government, Gehlot demanded an explanation for the removal of the photographs.

“Bikaner House is a property of the Rajasthan government. This means a young artist’s creativity was stifled under the BJP government’s watch, which is highly condemnable,” Gehlot said in a statement.

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP government was attempting to suppress images that reflected public dissent.

He also praised Vadra for refusing to remove two photographs featuring the national flag, saying his stand demonstrated that there could be no compromise on respect for the tricolour.

“Suppressing the voice of artists is a direct attack on democracy. This is a clear example of censorship,” Gehlot said, demanding that the BJP government explain why the photographs were removed.

On Wednesday, Raihan said he was told at 3.30 pm that if the images are not taken down by 5 pm, the show will be cancelled.

He said he had shared the detailed proposal and layout of the show well in advance with the Bikaner House management. Bikaner House went ahead and took down some of the pictures.

“They told us at 3.30 pm today if the images are not taken down by 5 pm, the show will be cancelled. They said it is not the right time for such photos to be shown,” Raihan had told PTI.

He said none of the images “gave out any political message and only documented the protests over the last six months”.

A Bikaner House official said “they were not authorised to comment”.