Lucknow, April 22 -- Samajwadi Party (SP) workers staged a protest outside the residence of Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharkwal on Wednesday over her alleged remarks linked to SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's late mother, triggering a fresh political controversy in the state capital.

The protest came amid a heated exchange between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition SP after Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharkwal's statement was interpreted by the opposition as offensive.

Responding to the row, Mayor Sushma Kharkwal defended her remarks, saying her statement was misrepresented and that she had referred to broader comments on women and political leaders rather than any individual's mother.

"What I had said was that half our population ...