NEW DELHI: A lawmaker from India's ruling party has called for Hindu women to have at least four children to “protect” their religion, sparking calls for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to rein in his hardline supporters.

Sakshi Maharaj, who represents a seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said in a speech Tuesday that Hindus should see it as their duty to have large families.

“The time has come when a Hindu woman must produce at least four children in order to protect the Hindu religion,” Maharaj said at a religious congregation in the city of Meerut.

Maharaj's remarks sparked a backlash on social media with his name trending on Twitter while political opponents demanded an explanation from Modi who has a reputation as an unashamed Hindu nationalist.

“Why has the prime minister maintained silence even for 24 hours? Is this the new population policy of India? The country wants to know, the nation wants an answer,” said Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a senior figure in the former ruling Congress party.

Modi also came under fire last month for rejecting calls to sack another BJP lawmaker who told a campaign rally crowd to decide whether they wanted a government run by “the children of (Hindu god) Ram or the children of bastards”.