Thiruvananthapuram | The opposition Congress and the BJP in Kerala on Saturday said that the police action against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil has been initiated to divert attention from the probe and court proceedings in connection with the loss of gold from Sabarimala.

Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan told reporters here that both the CPI(M) and the CPI allegedly have a role in the matter.

BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar questioned the timing of the police action, saying that it was taken just days before the local body polls were to be held to divert attention from the Sabarimala gold loss issue.

"I am 100 per cent confident that is why the CPI(M) government took this action now, when we have been asking for lodging of a case for several months. This is a political strategy of the CPI(M) to divert public attention. There is no doubt about that," he told reporters here.

The BJP state chief also slammed the Congress, claiming that when Mamkootathil was made state president of Youth Congress, there were several complaints against him.

"Despite all that, he was made state president of Youth Congress and then imposed upon the people of Palakkad as their MLA. That is the politics of the Congress. But, now CPI(M) is backing the Congress," he alleged.

He further claimed that the two INDIA front partners are together trying to divert public attention from the Sabarimala issue.

"We will not allow that," he added.

He also alleged that what happened in Sabarimala did not happen only when the CPI(M) was in power.

"It has been going on for much longer than that. There are photographs of Unnikrishnan Potty with Sonia Gandhi, Anto Antony and Adoor Prakash," he contended.

Potty is the main accused in the cases lodged by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) regarding loss of gold from the gold-plated copper claddings of the 'Dwarapalaka' (guardian deity) idols and Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames in Sabarimala.

"So, the irregularities in Sabarimala were started and continued by both the CPI(M) and Congress together," the BJP leader alleged.

"That is why I called for an investigation by central agencies," he added.

He further alleged that the Congress was also part of the "political strategy" to lodge a case against Mamkootathil to divert public attention from the Sabarimala issue