PM says former governments did not give due respect to Indian kings

He asserted that the BJP and his government would not let the nation forget the former kings.

He was addressing a rally here after releasing a commemorative stamp on king Suheldev, who is said to have defeated the army of Ghazi Sayyad Salar Masud, a nephew of Mahmud of Ghazni, in Bahraich in early 11th century.

Suheldev is revered by the Rajbhar community of Uttar Pradesh and Modi releasing a stamp on him is seen as wooing the community ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

"We consider it as our duty to honour the kings like Maharaja Suheldev... Former governments did not give due respect to them and forgot them," the Prime Minister said.

"It is BJP's commitment that those who fought for India's security and pride will not be allowed to be erased from history... We will not allow dust to gather on such history," he emphasised.

He said the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh today had decided to set up a memorial for raja Suheldev to pay tributes to him.

"We trying to be sensitive. We want the poor, the oppressed people, the suppressed people, the entire society to be empowered. And we are moving with this dream," Modi said, adding their voice is reaching the government.

He said his government was making the systems simple and transparent so that everyone's problems are addressed.

He said his government does not believe in making announcements or cutting ribbons just for the votes.

Contending that his government has been bringing about changes in the system so that the voice of the poorest sections of the society is heard, Modi said, "it is still a beginning. We are only successful in laying a strong foundation. Now we have to build on this."

He then spoke about a host of programmes launched by his government over the last four and a half years .

In this context, he flagged the ambitious healthcare programme, also known as "Modicare', saying it was for the first time since Independence that such a scheme had been launched to treat the poor people free of cost for serious ailments like cancer.

"Whatever work is being done now, it is being done with full commitment and honesty," he said.