Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has often spoken about swimming as part of his fitness routine. But Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju believes the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha may need some training before taking the plunge into Arunachal Pradesh’s gushing rivers.
Rijiju said in a post on X on Sunday (August 23, 2026).
” Mein yahan ka khiladi hun [I am the player here],” Mr.
“Some people might think swimming in gushing rivers of Arunachal Pradesh is like swimming in pools or rivers like Yamuna. In raging rivers, our head should be up, not down & body should be more upright, not straight as we keep in swimming competition. Rijiju posted on Instagram a video of a conversation with Mr. Gandhi in Parliament. “Not talking politics, only fitness. Mr.
Mein yahan ka khiladi hun ,” he said. I hope he will promote #FitIndiaMovement,” the minister had said. He said Mr. Rijiju had once asked him how he remained fit and that he had told the minister about his practice of jiu-jitsu. Gandhi then used the martial art to make a political point, describing how a fighter establishes a “grip”, moves to a “choke” and eventually forces the opponent to “tap”.
The remarks are the latest in a series of good-humoured exchanges between the two political rivals over fitness, including a conversation in Parliament last year and a jiu-jitsu challenge from Mr. Gandhi earlier this year. In December last year, Mr.
