The BJP's Scheduled Caste Morcha chief Dushyant Kumar Gautam told the Times of India that he had spoken to Rai, who would clarify his statement. "Rai's comments reflect his lack of awareness about Ambedkar. But it also smacks of some conspiracy," Gautam said. BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma also insisted that individual comments should not be attributed to the party, and claimed that the government is committed to national icons like Ambedkar.
In the interview, Rai also demanded a new constituent assembly and a fresh Constitution, claiming the first one was not representative of the whole country. He said many people had boycotted the constituent assembly and their views were not incorporated in the document.
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