BJP Alleges Rahul-Priyanka Rift Over Raihan Vadra’s Exhibition Row

The BJP on Friday alleged that an internal tussle between Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was playing out within the Congress, citing the controversy over the removal of photographs from an exhibition by Priyanka’s son, Raihan Vadra. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari questioned Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the issue and accused Priyanka of attempting to “soft launch” her son by manufacturing a controversy.

Rahul Gandhi, who travelled to Vietnam last Sunday on a personal visit, has not publicly commented on the row. The BJP has sought to portray his silence as a sign of a rift between the siblings. However, just days earlier, Rahul and Priyanka had jointly led protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

“Priyanka Vadra's entire attempt was to soft launch her son by manufacturing a controversy. She has lost political faith in Rahul Gandhi!” Bhandari said in a post on X.

“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!” he added.

What Is The Row Over Raihan Vadra’s Exhibition?

Raihan Vadra, an artist and photographer, said on Wednesday that the administration of Bikaner House in Delhi had asked him to remove several photographs depicting recent student protests from his exhibition, titled No Idea Is Final.

The controversy erupted hours before the exhibition was scheduled to open on Wednesday evening. Raihan said he was asked to remove or replace 74 of the 105 photographs. By the time the exhibition opened, only 35 frames remained.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the decision, describing it as an attempt to “muzzle” the voice of the youth. Bikaner House, meanwhile, said the photographs were “found to be inconsistent” with the venue’s policy.

The BJP cited email exchanges between Raihan and Bikaner House to argue that the original exhibition proposal did not include political content. Bhandari shared screenshots of the correspondence on X, saying the proposal had listed themes such as nature, wildlife, abstract artwork, portraits and sculptures.

“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 said.

According to the BJP, Bikaner House accepted the proposal on June 30, while a notice asking Raihan to remove 74 photographs was sent on October 21.

BJP Alleges Political Photographs Were Added Later

Bhandari argued that the initial proposal did not mention political photographs and alleged that they were added later under pressure from Raihan’s family.

“Raihan was aware of the booking guidelines. This is why his initial exhibition idea, which he was working on for 3 years, had no political content,” he said.

“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 added.

The BJP claimed the email exchanges contradicted the Congress’s account of the controversy and accused Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the party of misleading the public.

The party’s allegations of a rift between Rahul and Priyanka, however, were based on Rahul’s lack of public comment on the exhibition row. No evidence of an internal conflict between the siblings was cited in the statements.