The meeting of the Nepali Congress Central Working Committee, which has been ongoing since October 28, remains inconclusive even after 44 days. President Sher Bahadur Deuba and his team are still trying to run the party as it is.

But the team including General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma are not only raising the issue of transformation within the party, they are also adamant that a general convention should be held before the elections.

While the entire party ranks were becoming directionless in this dispute, then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's political advisor and analyst Hari Sharma addressed the gathering of supporters of the special general convention on Wednesday. An edited excerpt of the conversation between Sharma, who had strongly commented on the Congress being lost in the confusion after the Gen-G rebellion, and the latest internal conflict within the party: He was sitting at a distance and watching the Congress. But why did it have to be a situation where he had to go and speak at the gathering of supporters of the Congress? What I am seeing inside the Congress was too much. They said, 'Come and speak'. I am not a member of the Congress. But I went and spoke out of love. We should rise from the mindset of a cadre and move forward. We should not just become members, but fight for our rights. I explained that I had come to wish you well.

How did it come about that I had to say something after going to the gathering?

I said- I am not a member of the party. But I am a person who loves the Congress. As a citizen, I went there and spoke because of the internal democracy within the parties and the behavior of the parties. In a democracy, the right to choose is not something that is guided and influenced by the parties. If the parties are weak, we do not get the opportunity to choose the right party or character. Therefore, it is important that the feelings of the people are reflected through democratization of each party and fair competition.

There is a long-standing dispute within the Congress on whether to hold a general convention or not. How do you see it?

Whether it is special or regular, now is the time to hold a general convention as per the statute. Therefore, the efforts being made by the leaders in favor of a special general convention are important for party reform and the forward direction of democracy. It seems that in order to understand the situation created after the Gen-G movement, it is necessary to consider the policies, programs and leadership adopted by the party so far.

What is the reason for such a big controversy over whether to hold a general convention before or after the election?

It is not a debate before or after the election. It is wrong to engage in politics of prohibition in the name of elections. A convention is mandatory to elect a new leadership. The provision for a special convention has been made with that in mind. There is also an example of a special convention being held in 2014. But even after so much time, the fact that the central committee has not been able to take a decision is just confusing. If a special convention is going to split the party, why was that provision made?

Why is there increasing criticism that the leaders do not seem to have learned even after the Gen-G movement?

It seems that the leaders have started seeing the Gen-G movement as a 'conspiracy'. But conspiracy and democracy cannot go together. The Gen-G movement is not about looking for a conspiracy, but about building the future through democracy. The current leadership should not think that everything is fine just because it is in power. The Congress should have gone to elect a new leadership in the situation after the movement.

How do you view this indecision of the Congress?