Tuesday, June 7 2005 08:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: As Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief L K Advani returned to New Delhi from a visit to Pakistan sticking to his remarks on Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Partition of India and Babri Masjid demolition, an incensed Sangh Parivar fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) last night (Jun 6, 2005) hardened its stand and demanded he withdraw his utterances.

RSS general secretary Mohan Bhaghwat and its other functionaries conveyed the RSS views on Advani's remarks to senior BJP leaders M Venkaiah Naidu, Sanjay Joshi, Arun Jaitely and Bal Apte who met them at the RSS Jhandewalan headquarters in New Delhi late last night.

RSS spokesman Ram Madhav told sources in New Delhi, "Basic ideological questions are involved here and it is not possible for the Sangh to compromise on them or accept them. They (Advani's views) should be reviewed".

Answering a question, he said there was no question of an apology from Advani as RSS cannot compromise on fundamental ideological issues.

During his weeklong visit to Pakistan, which concluded yesterday, Advani had praised Jinnah as a secular leader, described Babri demolition as "the saddest day" of his life and asserted the Partition of the country was an "unalterable" reality of history.

The 90-minute meeting between RSS and BJP leaders came after the saffron party leaders held a daylong meeting among themselves and met Advani separately soon after the party President's return from Pakistan discussing the fall-out of his remarks in Pakistan.

BJP vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, who had defended Advani, held discussions with the party chief for over an hour. Later, most of the top leaders held closed door meeting for nearly two hours at Naidu's house and among them were Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan, Rajnath Singh, Ananth Kumar, Sushma Swaraj, Apte, Joshi and Prakash Javadekar.

After this meeting, Naidu, Jaitley and Ananth Kumar went to the residence of Advani and were closeted there for about an hour.

Amid all the drama, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international general secretary Praveen Togadia said BJP leaders and cadres had been deeply embarrassed by Advani's remarks and it was time for them to decide who will head the party.

Meanwhile, RSS chief K S Sudarshan is to arrive in New Delhi today (Jun 7, 2005) morning. Though Sangh leaders maintain it is a scheduled daylong visit to the capital, his arrival to Delhi assumes significance in the wake of the controversy triggered by Advani's utterances.

The Sarsanghachalak is expected to confer with other senior functionaries of the Sangh on the issue.