Bharatiya Janata Party chief Lal Kishenchand Advani has sought time till Thursday morning to decide whether to withdraw his resignation from the party chief's post.

A delegation of almost all top party leaders met Advani at his Prithviraj Road residence late on Wednesday evening and requested him to reconsider his decision to resign.

Advani resigned on Tuesday after coming under a sharp attack from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its allied bodies for his remarks praising Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

The RSS has already softened its stand on the issue. Its chief K Sudershan this morning praised Advani for the work he has done as the BJP chief.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad too has denied its general secretary Praveen Togadia called Advani a traitor. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, VHP chief Giriraj Kishore said if any comments of an office-bearer of his organisation caused offence to Advani, he offers his apologies.

Earlier in the day, the BJP parliamentary board passed a unanimous resolution asking Advani to withdraw the resignation.

All the leaders who attended the meeting, barring former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Murli Manohar Joshi, then left for Advani's residence to plead with him once again to reconsider his decision.

The resolution made no reference to Advani's comments on Jinnah.

Earlier report:
BJP to reject Advani's resignation