The government on Wednesday held its first dialogue with the group led by controversial medical entrepreneur Durga Prasai. He has been running a campaign with different demands, including the restoration of the Hindu state.

A six-member delegation from the campaign met with Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal at Singha Durbar and handed over a memorandum outlining 27-point demands. The team included Prem Thapa Magar, Pramdeep Limbu, Devi Prasad Sangraula, Madhav Prasad Khatiwada, Tejendra Rayamajhi, and Maqbool Sah.

Their demands include reinstatement of Nepal as a Hindu state, waiver of loans up to Rs2 million for the poor, and repayment of larger loans at 5 percent interest over 25 years. The delegates said they were pleased that the government had, for the first time, shown willingness to listen to their concerns.

Nepal was declared a federal democratic republic, abolishing the Hindu monarchy in 2008 after the success of the people’s movement.

Earlier in October, the government invited Prasai for talks. Prasai has made several provocative statements against Prime Minister Sushila Karki, Home Minister Aryal, Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, and Gen Z leader Sudan Gurung, among others.

Prasai, in interviews with various media channels, claims that thousands of people will come out on the streets and block major highways, in what he terms a fresh agitation for the restoration of the Hindu state. The group has planned a protest in Kathmandu on November 23.

Prasai spearheaded a similar kind of agitation in March in Kathmandu, where at least two people were killed. This background has alerted the government and the security agencies to Prasai’s fresh call for agitation.