Lucknow, Jan 19 (IANS) Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and hundreds of party workers were detained Tuesday following a clash with police during a statewide protest against the central and Uttar Pradesh governments on the issues of corruption and rising prices.

'In a democracy like ours people have the freedom to voice their objections...We will continue to fight against the governments on behalf of the public on issues of inflation and corruption,' Mulayam Singh told reporters just before police detained him in the state capital's Hazratganj area.

'We were carrying out demonstrations in a peaceful way, but police still resorted to lathicharge... It reflects the autocratic functioning of the police, the district administration and the state government,' he added, hitting out at the Bahujan Samaj Party led government.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary added that more than 200 SP activists had been detained in various districts, including Lucknow, Kanpur and Allahabad.

He said Mulayam Singh had not been allowed to step out of his Lucknow home but managed to do so somehow.