The Nepali Congress is currently at the crossroads of one of the most difficult times of its time.

Like a sharp bend in a river, on one side of this turn are party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and his group, who have reached the peak of their age, and on the other side are party general secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma.

The incident of the Nepal Army saving the lives of the Janten Deuba couple after they were caught in a flood at their residence in Budhanilkantha is not very old. What happened to them that day was an extremely unpleasant incident. But why and how such an incident was created and who was responsible for it will be reviewed over time. But the question is, was the incident of that day just the collective anger of a few agitated people or the outburst of a conflict that has been pent up under the surface of society for years? Was it just the activity of a few people who have lost discipline or a face of the society they have produced by sitting in power and around power for years?!

After that time, it became clear that not only those in the leadership of the Congress, but the entire party is surrounded by questions. Some have gathered at Bhrikutimandap to answer that question, while others are busy ignoring it as if nothing had happened that day or that the incident was just a trick of domestic and foreign elements. They have gathered in the Deuba camp and are busy filling it with an old melody of democracy.

Deuba was certainly upset by the incident of Bhadra 24. But after that day, the Congress party seemed to have fallen into a pit of even greater deviation. Although after the appointment of the acting president, some Congressmen had sighed with relief and seemed to be hopeful that the party would now see a change. But this faint hope of theirs did not last long. After returning from Singapore, Deuba, who was old and frail, not only remained active in party meetings and meetings, but also started showing his own activism in the decision-making process, which was like pouring cold water on the Congressmen who were starting to get excited.

Whether Deuba is just a person and the President of the Congress or whether he is also a trend will be explained in due course. But there is no doubt that he is solely responsible for whatever is happening within the Congress at the moment. Deuba, who has come here after going through very difficult days in the party, does not seem to be aware of the changing times after the Gen-G rebellion, nor does he seem to have accepted the common sense that the Congress should understand the pace of time. On the contrary, he has been trying to save 'democracy' by correctly calculating the interests of those around him for years.

As the musical chairs of power had been going on for years after the Gen-G rebellion, sharp questions were raised not only on the UML and the Maoists but also on the Congress. Some expected that President Deuba would answer that question when his health improved. But that did not happen, instead he seemed eager to walk the old steps as if he had put that day on the list of dreams to be forgotten. No matter how high he climbs the ladder of his age, he will not be able to get to the bottom of all those questions. He is either universally accepted within the party or surrounded by a group.

At this time, it seems as if the many incompatible tendencies that have grown up within the Congress are the entire party. Sometimes, those incompatible scenes appear as the shadow of the party and disturb the internal democracy within the party. The future of the Congress lies in when and how the story of the incongruous times when the Congress had to choose those with many scars of irregularities and corruption and sing the song of democracy will be erased and who will take the lead in it.

But the creation of a situation where the Congress has to get into a dispute even over understanding such a simple matter of politics is the ugliest joke of the present. And the way the party president is acting like he doesn't know anything while sitting at the center of that joke is one of the ugliest tragedies in history. Now the Congressmen should ask themselves, will they leave this incongruous story of the times and walk a new path or will they get caught up in their own calculations and fall into a trap?

The question is not just this. Is it Mohan Basnet, who is facing a case pending in a special court in the Terramax case, or Santosh Chalise, who is facing a case pending in a special court for amassing disproportionate assets? Is it Tek Bahadur Gurung, who was found guilty by a special court in the Bhrikutimandap contract case, or Deepak Khadka, who is surrounded by many questions in the Scout land dispute? The tricky question of whether the party will continue to nurture these and many other characters and tendencies or whether the party will be more clear about such characters is also a matter for Congressmen at this time.

General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwaprakash Sharma have taken the most tricky step of their political lives. On the one hand, they have to join the rebellion within the party. On the other hand, they have to find answers to all the questions raised against the party. They have to counter the slanders made by the leaders of the establishment. They have to measure the speed of time and move forward with it.