Agartala: Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Wednesday appealed to the people to forget the "communist legacy" and embrace the "democracy-loving monarchs".

Addressing a gathering in front of Rabindra Shataba-rshiki Bhawan here, Deb said Tripura was "fortunate" to have the rule of Manikya kings. The Manikyas ruled for nearly 500 years from the 15th century till 1949 when princely Tripura merged with the Indian Union. The regime started with Maharaja Ratna Manikya and ended with Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, who ascended the throne in 1923.

"Maharaja Bir Bikram had a rare personality. We are thankful that Tripura was ruled by the royal family (Manikya). They developed the educational infrastructure, including setting up Maharaja Bir Bikram College, Maharani Tulsibati School, and even donated land to set up an airport," Deb said.

He said the Manikya kings were "democracy-loving monarchs" and not like the "oppressive rule" of Czars in Russia. "There was an effort to make the people forget our kings and remember Stalin and Lenin. Does any indigenous person know about them? What will happen by learning about them?" Biplab asked.

He suggested that all indigenous people should have images of Maharaja Bir Bikram at home since he was the "architect of modern Tripura". "Maharaja Bir Bikram's ideas will be passed onto the indigenous people. So, forget them (Stalin, Lenin)," Deb said.

He said the BJP-led state government was working to fulfil dreams of the late king in raising Tripura as a modern and developed state.

Deb also said his government had placed a "bold budget" in the last budget session. "Our finance minister Jishnu Devvarma has placed a bold budget. Due to it, Tripura will earn at least double revenue before the next budget."

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for renaming Agartala airport after Maharaja Bir Bikram and said it was the fulfilment of the "aspirations" of 37 lakh people of Tripura.