# Rijiju and Khera spar over ‘half-naked’ swim jibe 2026-08-25T15:58:42+00:00 | Politics | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Congress MP Pawan Khera traded barbs on social media on Tuesday after Khera mocked videos of Rijiju swimming in a river in Arunachal Pradesh. Khera questioned why Rahul Gandhi kept featuring in Rijiju's posts, saying the minister 'cannot even go for a half-naked swim without invoking' Gandhi. Rijiju hit back, saying he would report Khera's 'indiscipline conduct' to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over the 'half-naked swimming' remark. Rijiju also pointed to their differing political experience, noting Khera is a first-term Rajya Sabha MP while he had contested eight elections. He said he swims with villagers to inspire them and that Gandhi 'does not exist in my mind' when he swims. Describing himself as a natural athlete in the rivers, Rijiju urged Khera not to be abusive. Khera responded by telling Rijiju to 'get well soon'. The exchange follows Rijiju's earlier posts where he joked Gandhi might need training before swimming in Arunachal's fast-flowing rivers. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both ABP Live and The Assam Tribune report the exchange as a straight factual account of the social media spat. ABP Live frames Rijiju's response first, emphasising his warning to Khera and his electoral record. The Assam Tribune adds more context, noting Rijiju's earlier posts comparing swimming techniques and past exchanges with Rahul Gandhi. Neither outlet adopts a government-critical or pro-government stance, both present the comments neutrally. The key difference is depth: ABP Live stays on the direct barbs, while The Assam Tribune includes the background of fitness and martial arts discussions between Rijiju and Gandhi. The next point to watch is whether Khera or Rijiju posts again. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - news.abplive.com (neutral report) Straight reporting of the exchange without editorial slant. - assamtribune.com (neutral report) Adds background context but remains factual and neutral. This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-25T17:31:58+00:00. Tags: BJP, Congress, Kiren Rijiju, Pawan Khera, Rahul Gandhi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/rijiju-hits-back-at-khera-over-swimming-video-remark/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/rijiju-hits-back-at-khera-over-swimming-video-remark/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/