VARANASI, June 21 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said people of Uttar Pradesh were earlier scared of taking the name of Azamgarh or identifying with the place but under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has become the fortress of "indomitable courage". Highlighting improved connectivity in Uttar Pradesh, which he described as the land of expressways, Adityanath also said India would have become independent in 1857 itself if the Purvanchal Expressway had been there at the time. He was speaking at the inauguration of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway at Salarpur in Azamgarh. This link expressway will not only connect Azamgarh to Gorakhpur, but will also give a new impetus to the entire Purvanchal (eastern UP), he said. The Gorakhpur Link Expressway stretches from Jaitpur (near National Highway-27) in Gorakhpur to Salarpur in Azamgarh, where it connects to the Purvanchal Expressway. It spans Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Ambedkar Nagar, and Azamgarh districts. Gorakhpur Link Expressway has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 7,283 crore. Yogi, who dedicated the expressway to the public and left for Gorakhpur with his convoy to conclude the inauguration at the other end of the expressway, took a swipe at the Opposition. He further alleged the previous (non-BJP) governments used to partner with D-company and Dawood gang instead of development, breached security and made Azamgarh a stronghold of terror but added that there was a sea change now. "Today, if someone tries to play with the security of the state, then Yamraj's ticket is already booked for him, " Adityanath said. "In 2007-08, Ajit Rai was murdered in Shibli National College for advocating the singing of Vande Mataram, but now no one can dare to do such a thing," he said, adding that Azamgarh had to beg for its identity earlier but now the situation has changed. If anyone tries to cast a taint on the image of Azamgarh, he will be sent to Jahannum (hell), said Yogi. Addressing a public gathering at Salarpur, Adityanath said, "U.P. is making its identity from a 'BIMARU' state to an expressway state. Remember what the conditions were eight years ago. The youth of UP and the residents of the state would suffer from an identity crisis. People used to feel scared to take the name of Azamgarh and UP." "When Veer Kunwar Singh, the hero of the first war of independence in 1857, fought the British till Azamgarh to defeat them, there was no connectivity. If this Purvanchal Expressway had been there at that time, the people of Azamgarh, along with Veer Kunwar Singh, would have beaten the British and then this country would have become independent in 1857 itself. There was no connectivity at that time." But now the Purvanchal Expressway is going to give connectivity from Patna to Delhi, he said. Yogi said that this expressway will provide world-class connectivity to Azamgarh as well as Ambedkar Nagar, Sant Kabir Nagar and Gorakhpur. In 2017, there were only one-and-a half expressways in Uttar Pradesh (Yamuna Expressway and Agra-Lucknow Expressway), he said. The Agra-Lucknow Express was incomplete and it was completed by the double engine government (BJP in power at the Centre and in UP), he said. Now, the 340-km Purvanchal Expressway, the 300-km Bundelkhand Expressway and the 91-km Gorakhpur Link Expressway have been operational. In addition, six expressways are under construction, he said. By the end of this year, PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Ganga Expressway and the infrastructure will be so strong that no one will be able to stop U.P. from prospering, he said....