Notwithstanding the government’s call for talks, Maoist chief Prachanda on Friday gave it a seven-day ultimatum to restore “civilian supremacy” or face stepped up protests as tens of thousands of his cadres laid a siege to a key administrative complex here for the second day in a row.

Wrapping up the second phase of Maoists’ anti-government agitation in Kathmandu, Prachanda asked the 22-party government led by Premier Madhav Kumar Nepal of CPN-UML to fulfil his party’s demands by November 20.

He warned that if “civilian supremacy” is not restored and President Ram Baran Yadav’s “wrong” step of reinstating then Army Chief Rukmangad Katwal not rectified through a parliamentary discussion in a week’s time, his party will launch a general strike and other strong protests.

Addressing the Maoists’ public meeting outside the Singhdurbar Secretariat, the seat of the government whose functioning was paralysed by the protest, Prachanda termed their two-week-long agitation as “successful” and thanked the people for their participation. His comments came a day after Prime Minister Nepal urged him to withdraw the agitation and come forward for dialogue.

“I urge all to show the required flexibility and accept the current political reality,” Nepal said in a statement. Despite his call, Maoists surrounded the Singhdurbar Secretariat for the second straight day as part of their protest aimed at dislodging the 22-party administration as authorities tightened security to prevent further violence.