Lucknow, Aug 9 (IANS): Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) were baton-charged in Lucknow Tuesday after they turned violent and clashed with police while protesting against the Congress-led central government.

Accusing the central government of not taking steps to fight corruption, hundreds of activists of the ABVP, the youth wing of the Rahstriya Swayamsevak Sangh, took to the streets in Charbagh and Parivartan Chowk areas of the state capital.

They turned violent when they were prevented from carrying out a march to the Vidhan Sabha in Hazratganj, police said. As the ABVP activists forced their way through barriers and blocked the roads, police used water canons and baton-charged protestors to disperse them.

"Several Congress leaders and ministers in the government have been linked to various corrupt practices. Considering this, the central government has lost the right to continue," ABVP leader Umesh Garg told reporters here.