An FIR was lodged against Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh for comparing former BJP veteran Kalyan Singh with the martyrs of Karbala.

According to official sources, the case was registered by Syed Waseem Rizvi against the SP leader at Chowk police station.

Mr Amar Singh was booked on charges of disturbing communal harmony under section 153 (a) of the Indian Penal Code.

On November 4, the SP leader had drawn a comparison between Mr Kalyan Singh and the martyrs of Karbala, while campaigning for the Lucknow-West Assembly seat candidate.

Shia Youth Front burnt the effigy of Mr Amar Singh near Bara Imambara in Lucknow and sought his arrest.

The Front’s President Zulfikar said the SP leaders comparison of the martyrs with Mr Kalyan Singh, who was allegedly responsible for the Babri Masjid demolition, was wrongful.

He said the politician should be arrested for degrading the martyrs.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and friend of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Kalyan Singh, had quit the BJP in January.

UNI