Madrid  - Divisions within Spain's main conservative opposition People's Party (PP) deepened Friday, with around 300 demonstrators calling for the resignation of party leader Mariano Rajoy in Madrid.

The protesters shouted slogans in support of Maria San Gil, the Basque PP leader who had announced her resignation over disagreements with Rajoy.

San Gil's resignation was followed by that of an important rank- and-file party member, former prison official Jose Antonio Ortega Lara, who was held hostage by the militant Basque separatist group ETA for one and a half years in 1996-97.

San Gil and Ortega Lara are regarded as symbols of Basque resistance against ETA's violence within the PP.

Former interior minister Rajoy has come under increasing criticism after his second election defeat to Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in March.

The PP is divided between the wing of Rajoy, who wants to anchor the party in the centre of the political spectrum, and hardliners such as Madrid regional Premier Esperanza Aguirre or San Gil, who are seeking a tough line in areas such as the fight against ETA.

Rajoy said Friday he would not "throw in the towel" despite possible attempts to replace him at the party congress in June. (dpa)