Railway minister waits to be wed as invites go to guests

The wedding cards have been sent out to 3000 guests and the railway minister says he has already decided on what he will wear on the big day.

The 67-year old Md Mazibul Hoque was all set to end his ‘solitude’ at the end of this month.

The Awami League leader smiled softly at his office on Wednesday when asked about how he was preparing.

“I’m not telling you the wedding date, but it will be at the bride’s place. I’ll wear a Sherwani... all arrangements will be there,” he told bdnews24.com.

The minister hails from Comilla’s Chouddagram and his bride-to-be, Hanufa Akhtar Rikta, from Comilla’s Chandina. The two have courted for three years, he had said earlier.

Rikta has a master’s degree and is a law graduate. The two were meant to tie the knot in December but the date was brought forward to October.

However, the railway minister’s ‘Bou-bhat’, the reception by the groom’s side, will be held at the National Parliament Complex’s LD Hall on Nov 14.

The MP from Comilla-11 will welcome his bride at his own constituency on Nov 16.

“Three thousand invites have been printed for the Bou-Bhat and they’re still being delivered. The rest of the work is almost done,” said the minister.

Hoque until now has been a vital member of the ‘Chirokumar Sangha’ at Comilla, an association for unmarried men.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1996 and given charge of the Railway Ministry in 2012 during the end of the Awami League’s previous tenure.