Leaders and lawmakers of the ruling party in the northern region of Bangladesh have declared that the people of North Bengal are no longer referred to as “Mofiz”, a derogatory term used in the past due to poverty and poor living conditions. Instead, they have now labelled the opposition BNP as “Mofiz”.
During the Awami League rally at the Rangpur Zila School playground on Wednesday afternoon, Asaduzzaman Noor and Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, lawmakers from Nilphamari and Dinajpur, made this assertion.
Asaduzzaman Noor, a renowned media personality and Awami League lawmaker from Nilphamari-2, stated: "We are no longer Mofiz. We no longer have to travel by climbing on the roof of buses. Now, we are traveling by air. However, during the BNP period, we had to endure hardships."
He further recalled an incident, saying: "Ehsanul Haque Milan was the responsible minister in Nilphamari district during the BNP period. In a speech at that time, he referred to the people of the northern region as 'Mofiz,' insulting us by saying that we travel to Dhaka sitting on the roof of buses."
Asaduzzaman Noor added: "Currently, 18 flights travel from Dhaka to Syedpur every day. People from our area buy tickets and travel inside the plane to Dhaka. This has become possible because Bangabandhu's daughter, Sheikh Hasina, is now the prime minister."
Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, state minister for shipping and former organizing secretary of Awami League, echoed Asaduzzaman Noor's sentiment, saying: "BNP leaders used to call Rangpur residents 'Mofiz.' Today, Bangabandhu's daughter, Sheikh Hasina's development initiatives, have transformed this area. Now, the people of Rangpur have labelled BNP as 'Mofiz' in return."