Akhilesh Yadav arrested, calls Mayawati autocratic

"The state government has been functioning in an autocratic manner and my arrest reflects it clearly," Akhilesh Yadav told reporters before being whisked away by police.

Akhilesh Yadav, who is president of the party's Uttar Pradesh unit, was held at Amausi airport shortly after he arrived from Delhi.

"We will continue our fight against the autocratic functioning of the state government, irrespective of the harsh measures being adopted by the state government to gag us," he added.

According to Deputy Inspector General, Lucknow, D.K. Thakur, he was arrested to maintain law and order in the wake of the SP's protests against Uttar Pradesh's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

He was supposed to address party men first at the SP's office in Lucknow and later in Kannauj, his parliamentary constituency, said party spokesperson in the state Rajendra Chaudhary.

SP launched a three-day statewide agitation against the state's ruling party on March 7 as part of its campaign "BSP hatao, Pradesh Bachao (Remove BSP, save the state)".