Rijiju hits back at ‘copying Rahul Gandhi’ jibe:Says, ‘Swimming is child’s play for me’; shares video on social media

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday shared a video of himself swimming in a mountain river in Arunachal Pradesh on X. In the post, Rijiju warned people against entering deep water if they did not know how to swim. He wrote, “If you can’t swim, never go into deep water. Many people have drowned in the river. The rivers of Arunachal Pradesh are very large and deep.” A few hours later, Rijiju shared another post targeting those who compared him with Rahul Gandhi, saying that swimming was “child’s play” for him. In the post, he wrote, “Many people are saying I’m doing the same thing as Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi probably takes training for this, but it’s a common occurrence in my life.” A video of Rahul Gandhi scuba diving in the Nicobar Islands surfaced in June 2025. Rijiju later went scuba diving at Swaraj Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Since then, some have suggested that Rijiju took up scuba diving after seeing Gandhi’s example. Rijiju’s latest swimming video appears to be a response to those comparisons. Swimming is part of Rijiju’s daily routine Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was born in Nakhu in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district. He has represented the Arunachal West Lok Sabha constituency in Parliament. According to a Hindustan Times report, the 54-year-old minister sets aside time between 4 pm and 5 pm for physical activities such as walking, swimming and jogging. Rahul Gandhi’s scuba-diving video surfaced in June On June 5, Rahul Gandhi shared a 16-minute video in which he said he had visited Indira Point, the southernmost point of India, and gone scuba diving among what he described as some of the world’s most spectacular coral reefs. Gandhi had travelled to the area to protest against the government’s Great Nicobar Project. Rijiju went scuba diving 15 days later Fifteen days later, Rijiju also went scuba diving at Swaraj Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Sharing a video of the experience, he wrote that he had gone deep-sea scuba diving at Temple Gardens and highlighted the area’s marine life and its potential for nature-based and adventure tourism. 2 pictures of Kiren Rijiju and Rahul Gandhi scuba diving BJP claimed Rs 26 crore was spent on Rahul Gandhi’s scuba diving In June, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that Rs 26 crore (£2.6 million) had been spent on Rahul Gandhi’s scuba-diving trip in the Andaman Islands. Rijiju alleged that the trip was presented as an activity focused on marine life and the environment, but accused the Congress of using it for political propaganda. He also criticised Gandhi and the Congress, saying, “If you cannot come to power, why do you want to ruin the country’s progress, wealth and our future?” ​