New Delhi: The Bikaner House Management Society said it asked photographer and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ’s son Raihan Vadra to remove certain photographs from his exhibition as they were “inconsistent” with their policy.
Raihan said Wednesday that the management told him to either remove or replace 70 out of 105 photographs that were supposed to be part of his exhibition titled ‘No Idea is Final’, hours before the opening.
Because they were allegedly against the policy.., “I said that I did not believe they were, but I was happy to discuss the matter and asked them to get back to me in writing, explaining what the concerns were…Then, at around 12.30pm, we received a call from the Deputy Resident Commissioner saying that I had to remove 70 of the 105 photographs in the exhibition.
In a statement, the Bikaner House Management Society said, “The exhibition and associated activities must comply with Bikaner House Management Society Policy. Certain photographs displayed as part of Mr Raihan Vadra’s exhibition, “No Idea Is Final,” at Bikaner House were found to be inconsistent with the policy of the Bikaner House Management Society. The photographs that are consistent with the Society’s policy have been continued to be displayed. ” According to the Bikaner House booking policy, artwork that contains “nudity, communal or political content” will not be allowed and/or “removed immediately”. Vadra said Thursday that he was approached by the Bikaner House management a day before the show’s opening and told that some of the pictures might be “objectionable or against their policy”. Once we had removed them, the officials came back to inspect the exhibition and said that the arrangement still did not work,” Vadra told PTI. “Afterwards, they came back and said that I had to remove the two photographs of the Indian flag as well. I said, ‘But they are just pictures of the Indian flag. I do not think there is anything in your policy that says photographs of the Indian flag have to be removed’. At that point, I firmly told them to put their demand in writing if they wanted me to remove the photographs of the Indian flag. They left one photograph in place, but while I was at home changing for the opening, they removed the other photograph of the Indian flag themselves,” he said.
Accordingly, their removal was requested. They did not send me anything in writing. Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra also condemned the removal of photographs.