The Justice and Democracy Party (JDP) on Thursday warned that the party would call a nationwide hartal in December, in coordination with all political parties and voters supporting the July Charter, if the referendum verdict and Charter were not implemented.

Speaking at a rally in front of the National Museum at 4pm, party Convener Nayeem Ahmad also warned that if the government fails to tackle the ongoing measles and dengue outbreaks, parents may eventually take to the streets carrying the bodies of children who die from the diseases.

Highlighting the crisis in the health sector, he said, “The health minister himself recently informed parliament that 11,495 posts in government hospitals are currently vacant. But the government has issued a recruitment notice for only 5,000 doctors. This shows that the government deliberately wants to keep the public healthcare sector understaffed.”

Citing examples of the shortage of doctors at district-level hospitals, he said, “At Bagerhat 250-bed District Hospital, only 26 doctors are working against 59 sanctioned posts. At Pirojpur 250-bed Hospital, only 18 doctors are working against 62 sanctioned posts. This means the healthcare system in rural areas is in an even more alarming state than in urban areas.” 

He said there were also significant shortages of nurses and other staff at district-level facilities. 

“If the government cannot ensure adequate doctors at district hospitals, where will people go for treatment?”

Referring to statistics on Bangladeshis travelling to India for medical treatment, he said the government’s “attempt to keep the health sector crisis unresolved and hand over profits to private and Indian institutions cannot be allowed to continue.”

Fahim Mashrur, convener of the Citizens’ Forum for Referendum Implementation, said nearly 70 percent of the people voted ‘Yes’ in the referendum.

"The same people whose votes enabled the BNP to enter parliament and form the government are now being told by the home minister that their referendum verdict is unconstitutional. Yet the Constitution clearly states that all power belongs to the people. Such conduct by the BNP amounts to openly deceiving the people.”

On the Cyber Security Act, Golam Mahfuz Zowardar, convener of the DSA Victims Network, said, “The Bangladesh parliament passed the Cyber Security Act in April 2026 with the stated objective of moving beyond the controversial legacy of the Digital Security Act, 2018. But only a few months after the law was passed, the government proposed the Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026, which effectively brings back the most repressive provisions of the Digital Security Act under a new name.”

He said the if proposed amendments become law, politicians, journalists, professionals and human rights activists would once again become victims of repression.

He called for the withdrawal of the proposed amendments and demanded that a consultation process be initiated involving civil society representatives, media professionals, legal experts, technologists and other relevant stakeholders.

Speaking about the disappearance of Miraj Sheikh, JDP member secretary Advocate Abdul Alim said, “The BNP government promised to repeal the Enforced Disappearance Prevention Ordinance and enact a stronger law. But the black laws it is now preparing to pass are nothing but a betrayal of the people.”

He said the provision allowing authorities to take anyone into custody “in the interest of state security” while remaining outside the scope of accountability was a clear violation of the Constitution. 

The speakers at the rally also demanded justice for the July massacre, improvement of the law-and-order situation, an end to fertiliser and fuel shortages, safety for women and children, an end to campus violence, protection of forests, haors, rivers and water bodies, solutions to energy and public transport crises, and measures to reduce the cost of living.

The protest meeting was moderated by JDP joint member secretary Mahtab Hossain Sabbir.

Among others, JDP senior joint member secretary Nura Zerin, joint member secretaries Ariful Haque Chowdhury and Yasin Arafat Raj, Bangladesh State Reform Movement’s secretary for rivers, environment, climate and disaster affairs Ibnul Saeed Rana, National Chhatra Mancha chief organiser Salman Sharif, and senior joint member secretary Afifa Arnaz Elmu also addressed the gathering.