New Delhi (AsiaNews/agencies) – The leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – the biggest opposition party in India – have unanimously turned down the resignation of President LK Advani.

"The party leaders," Murli Manohar Joshi said yesterday, "reject his resignation". All the same, according to a local press agency, the president has announced that his decision remains "firm". Local sources say the final decision on the subject will be announced today by Advani himself.

The BJP leader had announced his intention of stepping down after sparking controversy by statements he made during a six-day visit in Pakistan: he had defined Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of the nation as a "lay leader".

The definition provoked ironic reactions in the Indian Parliament and strong protests from main Hindu, nationalist groups, like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.