Wednesday, June 15 2005 12:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today (Jun 15, 2005) rejected the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) demand that L K Advani should quit politics and asked the Sangh Parivar outfit to "mind its own business".

BJP vice-president, M Venkaiah Naidu, rejecting the VHP's demand, told reporters, "The BJP decides who should be its president and the VHP need not take any pains in this regard. We are a democratic and nationalist political party. We are capable of conducting our affairs."

"VHP's suggestions or demands are not acceptable to us," he said.

Venkaiah Naidu said Advani's contribution to the cause of Hinduism and nationalism was un-paralleled and he represented the best values in public life. BJP had benefited immensely from his leadership, Naidu said.

Advani was the man who set an agenda for a debate on the true meaning of secularism by "tearing apart pseudo secular policies practiced by the parties with an eye on vote bank", he said.

Advani had agreed to take back his resignation from the Presidentship of the party only on the request of all party men and hence there was no question of Advani accepting the VHP's demand, Naidu said.

Alleging that Advani's remark that Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah was a secular man had been "twisted" by the press, Naidu said Advani had only reproduced what Jinnah had told the Pakistan constituent Assembly, only to create a public debate on the issue in that country.

There was no need for any debate on the issue as the BJP had a detailed discussion and issued a statement after the party's Parliamentary board meeting, he said.

"It is a closed chapter now and there is no need to reopen it," he said.

Naidu denied that Advani described Jinnah as secular. BJP's views were reflected at the resolution adopted at the parliamentary board meeting, he said.

BJP was clear that Jinnah founded a theocratic state (Pakistan) and it was even now a non-secular state. The party also never accepted the two-nation theory championed by Jinnah, he said.