Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday claimed that two senior Congress leaders told him that Rahul Gandhi made Pawan Khera level “false allegations” against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his wife Riniki Bhuyan Sarma during the Assembly election in the state earlier this year.Continuing an exchange with Khera that began over Rijiju’s swimming posts, the Union Minister also claimed that Khera was subsequently “rewarded” with a Rajya Sabha seat after the allegations backfired.“2 senior Congressmen told me that Rahul Gandhi ji had asked Pawan Kheda to put false allegation against @himantabiswa Ji & Madam Riniki Ji at the last hour of Assam election. When the falsehood backfired, Kheda was given a Rajya Sabha seat as a prize which he doesn’t deserve!” Rijiju wrote on X.There was no immediate response from Khera or the Congress to the claim.Khera was nominated by the Congress for a Rajya Sabha seat from Karnataka in June, shortly after the Assam Assembly election, and was subsequently elected unopposed.Khera and Sarma have had several run-ins. During the Assam assembly polls, allegations levelled by Khera against Sarma’s wife led to an FIR and a legal battle that reached the Supreme Court.The latest post came a day after Khera took a swipe at Rijiju alleging that the Union Minister repeatedly invoked Gandhi while responding to those questioning his swimming technique. The minister could not even go for a “half-naked swim” without bringing up the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Congress MP alleged.Rijiju responded that he would report Khera’s “indisciplined conduct” to Sarma.The exchange began after Rijiju posted a video of himself swimming in a river in Arunachal Pradesh. Following comparisons with Gandhi, who has spoken about swimming as part of his fitness routine, Rijiju said the Congress leader might need training to negotiate Arunachal’s rivers while it was “child’s play” for him.