By Sarah Pulliam Bailey for USA TODAY

An Indian official has welcomed an Australian swimwear designer's decision to pull women's swimsuits depicting a Hindu goddess.

Designer Lisa Blue outraged many Hindus by modeling bikinis and one-piece swimwear with the image of Lakshmi during last week's Australian Fashion Week in Sydney. Angry crowds burned Australian flags in protest of the depiction of Lakshmi, the goddess of beauty, wealth and good fortune.

Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said he discussed the issue with Australian Craig Emerson in Parliament House yesterday.

"Lakshmi is a deity which is worshiped by the Hindus and using the image on a swimwear line offended the sensitivities and the religious sentiments" of Hindus, Sharma is quoted by the Associated Press. "The concerned company was rightly advised and has withdrawn the line and that issue is settled because by doing so, sensitivity on this matter and the religious sentiments have been respected," he added.

Earlier this week, a top Indian court agreed to consider criminal proceedings, AFP reported.

The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh will hear a "public interest litigation," brought by lawyers over photographs of the swimwear published in a Hindi daily. They argued the newspaper should not have published the photographs and the Indian government should have pushed Australia to take action against the manufacturer, Lisa Blue Swimwear.

Lisa Blue has apologized for offending anyone and said that production of the swimwear had been halted and the pieces removed.

"The use of images of goddess Lakshmi was not in any way a measure of calculated risk taking, simply it was a desire to celebrate different cultures and share that through our brand," the statement said.

The website Fashionising said it has been filtering unpleasant comments after posting a photo of the model wearing the swimsuit. "Largely aimed at the label and its designer Lisa Burke, they've ranged from statements of concern to mild slurs, and at the other end of the spectrum have also included curses and all out death threats," the site says.

An smh.com.au online poll, which is unscientific but reveals a divide, found that 38 percent found the design beautiful, 17 percent attractive, 15 percent in poor taste and 30 percent offensive.

More details about the goddess Lakshmi can be found in the book Encyclopaedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. "Whatever the representation, this goddess is invoked to bless the devotee with good things of life and if somebody suffers any loss in business, it is said that the goddess Lakshmi has left his house," the author Suresh Chandra writes.

Does the swimsuit cross the line? Should designers avoid religion?