Tuesday, June 7 2005 14:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief L K Advani has resigned from his post as party president.

Advani's resignation comes a day after the top Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) brass took exception to his controversial remark on Pakistan founder leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah and asked him to withdraw his statement, which he refused to do.

Advani called BJP general secretary Sanjay Joshi to his residence this morning and handed over to him a letter announcing his resignation as party president, a statement handed over to journalists gathered at the leader of the Opposition's house said.

Along with the statement a letter written to Joshi by Advani "just before" departing from Karachi which said, "I have decided to request the party to relieve me of Presidentship" was also released.

"I am sure acceding to my request would be in the best interest of the great cause I have served all my life as also of the party which has given me so much," the letter said.

"I have taken this decision after pondering the matter very carefully. And I believe that my visit to Pakistan last week has immensely reinforced the initiatives taken by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government to bring about peace and normalcy with Pakistan.

"I have not said or done anything in Pakistan which I need to retract or review," the letter said.

As news of Advani's resignation spread like a wildfire, top BJP leaders rushed to his residence apparently to persuade him to withdraw his decision.

Pramod Mahajan, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Ananth Kumar and Bal Apte, who were among the first to arrive, however, did not speak to the media. But sources said that they would be persuading Advani to reconsider his decision.