Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 22 Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Thursday offered to host the exhibition of artist and photographer Raihan Vadra, son of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in Keralam, amid a controversy over the removal of some of his photographs depicting Delhi protests.
This comes a day after Raihan Vadra said the Bikaner House administration in Delhi pulled down many of his pictures of the protests at his solo exhibition, ‘No Idea Is Final’.
He claimed that the Bikaner House administration had warned him that the exhibition could be cancelled if he did not take down the pictures by 5 pm on Wednesday.
“Kerala would be happy and proud to host Raihan Vadra’s No Idea Is Final exhibition in its entirety. No exclusions, no exceptions,” Satheesan said in a post on X, tagging Raihan Vadra and Priyanka Gandhi.
Raihan Vadra had said on Wednesday that he had shared the exhibition proposal and layout with the Bikaner House management well in advance.
The photographs did not carry any political message but documented protests over the past six months, he had said.
Priyanka Gandhi had strongly criticised the move, saying that those in power who fear artistic expression end up losing the very power they seek to protect.
Calling the removal of the photographs “ridiculous”, the Congress MP accused the authorities of “muzzling” the voices of young people across the country.
While a Bikaner House official said the administration was “not authorised to comment” on the matter, the BJP termed the allegations “fake news”.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Thursday said Bikaner House policy did not permit the display of political content and asked Priyanka Gandhi to find another way to “launch” her son into politics.
(PTI News)
