New Delhi, Mar 21: It was an episode that made him virtually a persona non grata in the Sangh Parivar and within the BJP and that forced him to quit as party president. He even wanted to quit public life and opt for peace in the family. But three years after the infamous Jinnah episode, senior BJP leader L K Advani says "I have no regrets" on references about the secular nature of Mohammad Ali Jinnah which he quoted from late Sarojini Naidu's speech.

Writing under the chapter "I have no regrets" in his memoirs 'My Country My Life', Advani recalls the political storm that was generated by his remarks in Karachi during his visit to Pakistan in 2005. "I could well understand if some ordinary people had felt surprised and even upset, at seeing headlines in TV news bulletins or newspapers that said: 'Advani calls Jinnah secular'.

"But what pained me is that some people thought I had committed a serious ideological heresy even before acquainting themselves with full facts and background information," he writes. Advani recaptures the turmoil which forced him to resign as president of the BJP.

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that I was upset," he notes. His resignation was, however, not accepted by the party's Parliamentary Board. He withdrew his resignation but Advani recollects that the turbulence did not end there. "One day, in the middle of 2005, I was told that I should step down from presidentship of the BJP by the year-end after the conclusion of the party's ongoing silver jubilee celebrations," he says.