The government has started reaching out to the agitating Madhes-based parties and the ethnic Tharu community in an effort to end the ongoing standoff in the Tarai region.

The KP Oli-led coalition government on Friday sent a letter to the Tarai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP), a member of the Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha (SLMM), calling for fresh negotiations on their demands.

The government is also preparing to invite Tharu leaders for dialogue, Oli’s press advisor Pramod Dahal said.

“As part of taking the dissatisfied parties into confidence, the government is inviting them for talks,” he said. TMLP leader Hridayesh Tripathi said he learnt about the talks invite from a government minister.

“I couldn’t personally receive the letter because I was on my way to Kathmandu when the letter was said to be dispatched,” he said. The agitating SLMM, an alliance of the disgruntled Madhes-based parties, has demanded revision to the proposed seven-province model and inclusive representation of Madhesis, Janajatis and other marginalised communities in all state mechanisms.

It has also demanded martyr status for those who lost their lives during the Tarai agitation, compensation for the families of the deceased, free treatment for the injured and unconditional release of the detained protesters.

“We are not against dialogue. If the government agrees to revise the existing federal model, the talks will end on a positive note,” Tripathi said. Meanwhile, Raj Kumar Lekhi, leader of the agitating Tharuhat Struggle Committee, said that talks with the government had no meaning at the moment.

“What we are demanding is talks among the government, heads of three major parties and the agitating sides,” Lekhi said.

Dissatisfied with contents of the newly adopted constitution, the Madhes-centric parties and ethnic Tharu community have been staging protests in several Tarai districts for over two months now.

The country’s major border points with India are also closed for the last three weeks, causing a shortage of fuel and other essentials during the festival season. On Thursday, Prime Minister Oli urged the dissenting groups and parties to call off their protests in view of the upcoming Dashain festival.

The High-level Political Committee headed by UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal had advised Oli to take immediate steps to address the concerns of the agitating parties in consultation with the main opposition Nepali Congress.