THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala Fire and Rescue Services has issued a circular prohibiting imparting of rescue training to religious organisations and political parties, days after a controversy erupted over the training session conducted by its personnel for Popular Front of India (PFI) activists in Ernakulam.
Fire Force Director General B Sandhya had on Saturday issued the circular saying the department has taken a serious note of the incident in which training was given to an "extremist organisation".
It also said the fire force provides demonstration, awareness and training to general public either on its own or upon the request of government agencies and various residence organisations, student police cadet, NCC, NSS, other accredited voluntary organisation, educational institutions and kudumbashree.
Warning of action against the staff that conduct such training, the circular read, "The training imparted to religious organisations and political parties will be considered as indiscipline and a serious lapse on the part of the officials, who provide such training. The department takes a serious view of the recent incident in which training was given to an extremist organisation. These are the circumstances under which this circular is being issued."
The opposition Congress had on Saturday demanded that the state government order an inquiry into the training provided to PFI activists in Aluva Images of the training session have gone viral following which the state Fire Force Chief Sandhya ordered an investigation into the matter.
The matter came to light after BJP state chief K Surendran had posted the images of the training session on Twitter, saying the Left government was giving red carpet for "jihadi forces".