LUCKNOW/BAHRAICH/SHRAVASTI, July 22 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday accused the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress of glorifying foreign invaders and neglecting local heroes such as Maharaja Suheldev, asserting that his government restored the state's historical legacy. He was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of 70 development projects worth over Rs 352 crore in Mahsi and Nanpara Assembly constituencies of Bahraich district. Adityanath outlined a vision for the region's rapid progress under the 'double engine' government. "The first honour in Independent India should have been given to Maharaja Suheldev, but neither the Congress nor the Samajwadi Party did so. Instead of organising fairs in his memory, they started organising fairs in the name of Ghazi Miyan, the foreign invader Salar Masud Ghazi, who had come to plunder Bahraich and Maa Pateshwari Dham," the CM alleged while addressing a public gathering. He declared that "New India's New UP" would have no place for memorials or fairs dedicated to foreign invaders. The CM said Bahraich had transformed from an "aspirational district" into an "inspirational district" over the past nine years, the period of his stewardship of the state. "Nine years ago, Bahraich was counted among the country's most backward districts. Land mafia, sand mafia and forest mafia dominated the district while illegal and immoral activities flourished under political patronage. The district earned a bad name and its people suffered economically," he said. Adityanath said Bahraich today represented one of the brightest examples of a "Developed India" because of its fertile land and rich natural resources and the district that was once among the country's 100 most backward listed by the NITI Aayog is seeing better days. He pointed to several major infrastructure initiatives, including the establishment of a medical college named after Maharaja Suheldev and a hospital after Rishi Balark. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Rs.7,000 crore for the 102-km Barabanki-Bahraich access controlled four-lane corridor while funds have been sanctioned for the Lucknow-Bahraich four-lane road and 22 flood protection projects on the Ghaghara (Saryu) River worth Rs.115 crore. Adityanath said a major industrial logistics corridor is also being planned at the Rupaidiha border with Nepal, which, along with the proposed Gorakhpur-Shamli economic corridor passing through Bahraich, would transform the district into a major investment hub. "Bahraich now reflects the bright picture of Viksit Bharat," the CM said, praising the district's natural heritage at Katarniaghat and progress in natural farming. Speaking at a programme in Shravasti, Adityanath criticised the previous SP and Congress governments, accusing them of neglecting local Hindu icons while promoting the fair in the name of 11th-century foreign invader Salar Masud Ghazi, popularly known as Ghazi Miyan. He inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 83 development projects worth more than Rs.396 crore in Shravasti and Bhinga assembly constituencies. "Shravasti is no longer known for the menace of mosquitoes and mafia. It is emerging as an inspirational district," he said. The CM announced plans to improve connectivity, including linking Shravasti to the proposed four-lane corridor between Bahraich and Lucknow (estimated at Rs.7,500 crore) and the ongoing Shravasti-Balrampur-Gonda-Ayodhya corridor. Emphasising strict governance, he stated: "Anyone who tampers with the safety of daughters and traders will have only two destinations - jail or jahannum." htc...