Pinarayi's 'A-class fish' anecdote ignites social media discussion; C Divakaran clarifies

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPI leader C. Divakaran's anecdote about Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan preferring only ‘A-class’ fish cuisines became a topic of discussion on social media. Divakaran brought an incident from his memory lane, where he mentioned that Pinarayi had once stormed out of the house of late CPM leader Anathalavattom Anandan over not being served with the fish dishes he preferred. After social media elaborately discussed the issue, Divakaran responded that he was merely rekindling memories and said there was no need to make it controversial. Minister V. Sivankutty and Ananthalavattom Anandan's son Jeeva came forward to refute the remark.

In an interview with an online media outlet last month, Divakaran revealed his experience visiting Anathalavattom’s house to have food during an LDF rally, when Pinarayi Vijayan was the CPM state secretary. This interview came to the fore after the Chief Minister spoke about his childhood experiences at the Young Innovators Meet organised by K-DISC the other day.

Minister Sivankutty responded by saying that some people like certain fish, and there is no such thing as A-class and B-class fish. "Divakaran's remark may have been due to memory lapses. Pinarayi is not a glutton. Divakaran is a person who eats well."

Ananthalavattom Anandan's son Jeeva wrote on Facebook: "Comrade Pinarayi once had a meal at home. While eating, Pinarayi raised his face and pointed to one of the women present and asked if this was Anandan's wife. Then my father introduced her to Pinarayi. It was only after finishing his lunch that Pinarayi left the house."

Divakaran said that he had not seen Jeeva's Facebook post.