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Justice and Democracy Party (JDP) Convener Naim Ahmad has warned that his party will call a nationwide strike in December with the support of political parties and voters who backed the July Charter if the referendum verdict and the charter are not implemented.
He also warned that parents could take to the streets carrying the bodies of children who die from measles and dengue if the government fails to tackle the ongoing outbreaks.
Naim made the remarks at a protest rally held in front of the National Museum at 4pm on Thursday. The rally was organised under the banner of protests against “failure in running the state in line with the aspirations of July, anti-people legislation and public suffering”.
Raising concerns over the health sector, Naim said the health minister had recently informed Parliament that 11,495 posts in government hospitals were vacant, while recruitment had been announced for only 5,000 doctors.
“This shows that the government deliberately wants to keep public healthcare inadequate,” he alleged.
Citing shortages of doctors at district-level hospitals, he said only 26 doctors were working against 59 sanctioned posts at the 250-bed Bagerhat District Hospital, while 18 doctors were working against 62 sanctioned posts at the 250-bed Pirojpur Hospital.
“Healthcare in rural areas is therefore even more alarming than in cities. District hospitals also have shortages of nurses and other staff. If the government cannot ensure enough doctors at district hospitals, where will people go for treatment?” he asked.
Naim also cited figures on Bangladeshis travelling to India for medical treatment.
“Just over 99,000 Bangladeshis went to India for medical treatment in 2020. By 2023, the figure had risen to nearly 500,000. Although the number declined during the interim government due to complications over medical visas, it has started rising again,” he said.
He said weaknesses in the country’s healthcare system were not merely a problem for individual hospitals but also contributed to a significant outflow of money abroad.
“We cannot allow this alleged government conspiracy to leave the health sector in crisis while handing profits to private and Indian institutions,” he said.
Naim also questioned the government’s preparedness to tackle measles and dengue.
“The reported figures of nearly 146,000 measles patients being hospitalised and 999 deaths are extremely concerning. At the same time, more than 67,000 people have reportedly been hospitalised with dengue, with 201 deaths,” he said.
“If children continue to die from measles and dengue, parents may one day be forced to take to the streets carrying their children’s bodies. The government must not wait for such a situation and should immediately reform the health sector,” he said.
Highlighting gaps in health infrastructure, Naim said a Tk6,386 crore project had been undertaken six years ago to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to pandemics.
Under the project, 16 paediatric intensive care units and ICU facilities at 50 district hospitals were supposed to be established. The World Bank was a major financier of the project, he said, adding that funding had been suspended due to alleged corruption.
He alleged that the current government had neither taken steps to restore World Bank financing nor undertaken a similar project, leaving citizens increasingly exposed to health risks.
Fahim Mashrur, convener of the Citizens’ Forum for Referendum Implementation, said voters had cast two ballots in the national election, one for Parliament and another in the referendum on constitutional reforms.
“Nearly 70 percent of the people voted in favour of ‘Yes’ in the referendum. The same people’s verdict is now being called unconstitutional by the home minister, even though the Constitution clearly states that all powers belong to the people. Such behaviour by the BNP amounts to openly deceiving the people,” he alleged.
Speaking on the Cyber Security Act, Golam Mahfuz Zowarder, convener of the DSA Victims Network, said Parliament had passed the Cyber Security Act in April 2026 with the stated aim 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, under a new name, some of the most repressive provisions of the Digital Security Act,” he alleged.
He said the proposed amendments included new offences relating to defamation, insult, bullying, rumours and misinformation, expanded powers to block content, increased jurisdiction for mobile courts and the removal of representation from the National Human Rights Commission on the National Cyber Security Council.
“If these proposed amendments become law, politicians, journalists, professionals and human rights defenders could once again become targets of repression, as they historically were under the DSA and its predecessor,” he said.
He demanded withdrawal of the proposed amendments and called for a consultation process involving civil society, media professionals, legal experts, technologists and other relevant stakeholders.
Speaking about the disappearance of Miraj Sheikh, JDP Member Secretary Advocate Abdul Alim alleged that the BNP government was preparing to enact a “black law” after repealing the enforced disappearance prevention ordinance despite promising to introduce stronger legislation.
He alleged that a provision allowing anyone to be taken into custody in the “interest of state security” without accountability would constitute a clear violation of the Constitution.
He urged the government not to proceed with such legislation.
The speakers at the rally also demanded justice for the July massacre, improvement of law and order, an end to fertiliser and fuel shortages, greater protection 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 rally 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 Secretary for Rivers, Environment, Climate and Disaster Affairs Ibnul Saeed Rana, National Student Forum Chief Organiser Salman Sharif and Senior Joint Member Secretary Afifa Arnaz Elmu also spoke at the programme.
