Lucknow, May 12 (IANS) Congress workers took to the streets in several places in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in clashes with police Thursday, a day after their leader Rahul Gandhi was arrested and subsequently released for staging a sit-in in support of farmers.

 
 Led by Congress state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi, a large number of Congress activists in Lucknow carried out demonstrations near the state assembly demanding the arrest of Chief Minister Mayawati.
 
 "Police not only assaulted several of our workers, but also misbehaved with the women workers of the party," Congress spokesperson Subodh Srivastava told reporters here.
 
 "We will continue with our struggle against the autocratic functioning of the Mayawati government," he added.
 
 "During the protests, issues and problems related to farmers, particularly pertaining to their land acquisition, would also be raised by us," Srivastava had told IANS earlier in the day.
 
 According to reports, Congress workers also blockaded roads in various districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Sitapur, Allahabad, Kanpur, Rae Bareli and Varanasi.
 
 Besides Joshi, several other Congress leaders were also detained.
 
 In Allahabad, hundreds of Congress workers blockaded the Yamuna bridge, throwing the traffic out of gear.
 
 Gandhi was arrested late Wednesday while he was on a sit-in at Bhatta-Parsaul village in Greater Noida to support farmers demanding more money for their land being acquired for a highway project. He was released after being held for about three hours and later returned to New Delhi.
 
 Riding pillion on a motorcycle Wednesday morning, the Congress scion sneaked into the village-barred to politicians and outsiders, to back farmers agitating for higher compensation for land acquired for the 156-km Yamuna Expressway, which will link New Delhi with Agra.
 
 He spent nearly 18 hours with the villagers before his late night dramatic arrest.
 
 Addressing the agitating farmers earlier, Gandhi said the Uttar Pradesh government's high-handedness made him "feel ashamed to be an Indian".
 
 There was high drama at the Kasna police station in Greater Noida where Gandhi, Joshi, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh and MP Raj Babbar were taken after the arrest at around 11 p.m.
 
 Gandhi was asked to sign a bond after which police said he would be permitted to leave.
 
 He, however, flatly refused to do so, saying he had gone to the village with a purpose and would return there if he was released, Congress sources said.
 
 Police later released Gandhi at around 2 a.m. Thursday, and he was driven back to New Delhi.