Flaying the Left Democratic Front government for selecting well-known painter M F Husain for the prestigious Raja Ravi Varma [Images] award, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal on Thursday demanded the resignation of state Education Minister M A Baby for deciding "to honour a person who has done irreparable damage to the entire nation by painting Hindu gods in the nude."

Welcoming the high court's decision to stay the award, announced by the state Education and Cultural department, VHP and Bajrang Dal office-bearers told a press conference in Kozhikode that Baby should quit office and apologise for his action.

Following the court's directive, the VHP and Bajrang Dal had decided to withdraw the proposed statewide protest on September 17, when Husain was originally scheduled to receive the award, they said.

Earlier, the VHP and Bajrang Dal had announced that they would not allow Husain to land anywhere in the state.

"Despite several cases pending against him, the state government has chosen Husain for the award, but we will not allow him to enter the state on any account," they said adding, the government should now select a deserving candidate for the award in place of Husain "who has committed blasphemy through his obscene paintings of several Hindu gods."

Seeking a detailed debate on the Archaeological Survey of India's findings that there was no evidence to prove that Rama Sethu barrier was man-made, they said the mythological record cannot be ignored totally while dealing with the issue.