New Delhi, Aug. 13 -- Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Singh Malik on Thursday defended jailed party leader Azam Khan and said the party stands by him, while asserting that the Opposition's protest over the Ram temple donation issue was not against the temple but against what the party alleges was theft of donations.

Reacting to a reported statement by senior SP leader Shivpal Singh Yadav regarding Azam Khan, Malik said Yadav had only expressed his sentiments and maintained that there was no ambiguity within the Samajwadi Party on the issue.

"He has simply expressed his sentiments. In the Samajwadi Party, things are stated plainly and without equivocation," Malik said.

The SP MP said the party condemned the developments surrounding the inve...