Lucknow, March 23 : Samajwadi Party (SP) president Mulayam Singh Yadav Saturday publicly heaped praise on Lal Krishna Advani here, saying the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader "does not lie".

"Advani ji told me that if law and order was not taken care of immediately, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav would be labelled as a failed administrator... I have known him for long and I know that he does not lie," the SP chief said at a function here to commemorate the 103rd birth anniversary of socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia.

Mulayam Singh Yadav asked Akhilesh to take tough measures to contain crime in the state and spruce up the official machinery in the state.

He, however, added that the media and opposition parties were exaggerating the crime rate in the state and said that in Delhi and other states the law and order situation was worse.

The SP chief also urged the party office-bearers and ministers to work for the interest of the people. "The welfare of the poor, downtrodden and weaker sections should be of prime importance for party workers," he said.(IANS)