BERLIN — Germany’s interior minister faced calls for his resignation on Tuesday, after his dismissal of a spy chief who had given fuel to right-wing and anti-immigrant sentiment failed to end a monthslong controversy that weakened the government.

The intelligence chief, Hans-Georg Maassen, became a hero to the growing far right in September, when he contradicted Chancellor Angela Merkel and questioned the validity of a video showing anti-immigrant protesters in the city of Chemnitz chasing people who appeared to be immigrants. At the time, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer — who has advocated a harder line on immigration than Ms. Merkel has — proposed moving Mr. Maassen to a position in his ministry, but resisted calls to fire him.

But it recently emerged that Mr. Maassen had blamed “radical-left forces” in the coalition government for plotting his demotion from the intelligence post he held for six years. He made that statement last month in a speech to a group of European colleagues, but it was only in the last few days that transcripts of his remarks appeared in the German news media.

The comments were “unacceptable” and “crossed a line,” and “precluded trusting cooperation,” Mr. Seehofer said in announcing on Monday afternoon that Mr. Maassen would be dismissed from government service.