NEW DELHI, June 28: India’s former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha was stripped of his job as party spokesman on Tuesday in a standoff with Lal Krishna Advani, the head of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Mr Sinha had criticised Mr Advani for describing the Quaid-i-Azam during a recent visit to Pakistan as a secular man. The controversy forced Mr Advani to offer to quit as BJP president.

As former finance minister, Mr Sinha was seen as close to the BJP’s spiritual fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). He has been vocal in his criticism of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s handling of the peace dialogue with Pakistan.