Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday rejected demands to fire a government minister whose derogatory comments against Muslims have led to a furor that has shut down the Indian Parliament for four days.
Junior minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti told a public rally in New Delhi that those who do not follow the Hindu god Ram were "bastards."
Opposition lawmakers want her removed from the council of ministers on the grounds that her comments went against India's secular constitution.
Modi has called the remarks unacceptable, but has refused to fire her. He appealed to lawmakers Friday to let Parliament function.
Modi told Parliament that Jyoti's comments were unacceptable but that she was new and had been elected to Parliament for the first time. "She has apologized. I appeal to the house to move on and that we resume work in the interest of the country," Modi said.
Angry lawmakers have rejected Jyoti's apology and demand that she face criminal charges for trying to incite communal hatred.
Soon after Modi's appeal to lawmakers Friday, Congress party lawmakers walked out of Parliament and sat in protest outside. They tied black cloths across their mouths and held signs demanding Jyoti's dismissal.
In 2002, Modi was accused of failing to stop anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat state that claimed at least 1,000 lives when he was chief minister of the state.
He has rejected the accusations, and India's Supreme Court has said that it found no evidence to prosecute him.
Muslims make up more than 13 per cent of India's population. They have been wary of the overwhelming majority won by Modi's Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party in general elections held in May.