Wednesday, June 8 2005 10:40 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Sangh fountainhead advised firebrand leader Praveen Togadia to exercise restraint in his language, which had "pained" the former Deputy Prime Minister, L K Advani.

Even as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ensured L K Advani's imminent exit as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president over his controversial statement on Pakistan-founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Sangh fountainhead advised firebrand leader Praveen Togadia to exercise restraint in his language, which had "pained" the BJP president.

Advani's resignation came after Sangh general secretary Mohan Bhagwat made it clear to BJP senior leaders late last night that he would have to either retract his statement or quit, party sources said.

This was the reason he chose to handover the resignation to Sangh's pointsman in BJP Sanjay Joshi and not to any other party functionary, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Sangh sources said Togadia has been advised to be careful in the usage of language while referring to "eminent leaders" like Advani.

Togadia had referred to Advani as a "traitor" and described his resignation as "victory of patriotism over treason".

In his meetings with senior party leaders, Advani said he was agonised by the type of language used against him and regretted that no party leader reacted to it.

BJP leaders including M Venkaiah Naidu, Uma Bharati and Sumitra Mahajan also criticised Togadia's language.