BJP alleges Gandhi siblings rift over Rahul’s silence on Raihan Vadra’s exhibition row
New Delhi: The BJP has alleged a rift between Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra over the controversy surrounding the removal of photographs from her son Raihan Vadra’s exhibition in Delhi. The party questioned Rahul’s silence on the issue, claiming Priyanka was using the controversy to introduce her son into politics.
BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari made the allegations on Friday, pointing out that Rahul, who is on a personal visit to Vietnam, had not publicly commented on the matter.
Rahul and Priyanka had jointly led protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process just days earlier.
“Priyanka Vadra’s entire attempt was to soft launch her son by manufacturing a controversy. She has lost political faith in Rahul Gandhi!” Bhandari wrote on X.
He also questioned Rahul’s silence, saying, “Rahul Gandhi, who from Vietnam is tweeting on every issue under the sun, has till now not openly done a single tweet in favour of Raihan Vadra. Its Priyanka vs Rahul in Congress!”
Raihan Vadra controversy
The controversy began on Wednesday when Raihan, an artist and photographer, said the management of Bikaner House had asked him to remove or replace 74 of the 105 photographs planned for his exhibition, No Idea is Final. The request came hours before the exhibition was due to open. Only 35 frames remained when it began.
The photographs reportedly included images of recent student protests in Delhi. Priyanka criticised the move, calling it an attempt to “muzzle” the voice of young people.
Bikaner House said the photographs were “found to be inconsistent” with the venue’s policy.
BJP questions exhibition proposal
Bhandari shared screenshots of emails between Raihan and Bikaner House, arguing that the original proposal, sent on June 10, focused on nature, wildlife, abstract art, portraits and sculptures. The venue accepted the proposal on June 30.
“Raihan Vadra’s email to Bikaner House dated June 10, and the proposal he sent to Bikaner House in the same mail had him declare the exhibition containing themes of nature, wildlife, artwork, sculpture,” Bhandari posted.
He alleged that political photographs were added later and that the venue requested their removal on October 21 because they did not match the original proposal.
“Under pressure of his family for a political launch, the political photographs were inserted later on to which Bikaner House reverted asking for removal on October 21,” he said.
The BJP maintained that the correspondence supported its allegations against Priyanka and the Congress.