PM's no-show raises Democrat ire in House
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The second day of the House debate on the Budget Bill yesterday saw an exchange of barbs between coalition and opposition lawmakers, focusing on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's absence from the debate for two consecutive days.
Yingluck had earlier said she would not travel to inspect |flooding in the South in order to devote full attention to the debate on the Budget Bill for fiscal 2012, which started on Wednesday and was expected to be completed today.
Opposition Democrat MP Boonyod Suktinthai wryly filed a Yingluck truancy report from the House floor, prompting protests from the coalition bench.
On the first day of the debate for the second reading of the Budget Bill, lawmakers spent more than 13 hours before passing one provision of the bill prescribing a total spending of Bt2.38 trillion.
As the debate moved on to another provision pertaining to the Bt420 billion central funds destined for mid-year allocations, Boonyod lashed out at Yingluck for playing truant.
In retaliation, MP Kiart-udom Menasawat from the ruling Pheu Thai Party requested House Speaker Somsak Kiartsuranont to order the Democrat to withdraw his sarcastic remarks. After a war of words, Boonyod agreed to have his remarks removed from the records but not before his parting shot.
“I agree to withdraw my remarks in order to prove the double standards in the House speaker’s conduct towards the opposition,” he said.
Democrat MP Sukit Attopakorn said he was puzzled why Yingluck was a no-show at the budget debate, which she cited as a reason not to inspect the flood-hit areas in the South. Sukit said the prime minister had no justification for being absent from the budget debate.
The prime minister yesterday spent most of her work time at her Government House office – from morning until about 2pm.
At noon, Yingluck had a working lunch with Army commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha. She left Government House at about 2pm to attend the opening ceremony of the Board of Investment’s BoI Fair at Muangthong Thani in Nonthaburi late in the afternoon.
