Pheu Thai denies trying to escape censure debate
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Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit yesterday denied Democrat MP Thepthai Seanapong's claim that the Pheu Thai Party and the government sought to extend the present legislative session in order to avoid a censure debate.
The extension was rather due to the charter debate itself and the constant turmoil in the Parliament caused by the opposition, he said.
The spokesman urged Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to end attempts by his party members to protect the 2007 Constitution. Most Thais wanted the Constitution, promulgated after the 2006 coup, to be amended, Prompong said.
He believed the opposition’s call for a censure debate at this point was premature, given that the government had been in the post for just nine months. However, he said the government, especially Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, would be ready for a debate.
There would be no Cabinet reshuffle to avoid a censure debate, because people should be able to question their representatives, he said.
Parliament is conducting a second reading of the bill to form a Constitutional Drafting Assembly to take charge of charter change.
The latest charter debate on Tuesday night saw the approval of a 240-day deadline for charter change (clause No 291/11) and the denial of lawmakers’ reserved rights to speak on the floor (clause No 291/12).
Prompong also discussed Vichien Khaokham’s decision to give up his position as a Pheu Thai MP to become a candidate for the Udon Thani Provincial Administrative Organisation.
The spokesman said there was no conflict within the party over the move, as Vichien’s case was different from that of Sumet Rithakhani, who failed to win the equivalent post in Pathum Thani after stepping down as an MP from the province.
The spokesman pointed out that Vichien’s resignation as a party-list MP would not lead to a by-election, as Sumet’s had done, as the next person in line would automatically be promoted as a new list MP.
Therefore, Vichien’s move did not violate a new party rule, created after Pheu Thai’s defeat in the Pathum Thani by-election, forbidding its MPs from resigning to run in local elections.
Prompong further expressed his belief that people in the province would benefit from Vichien’s experience as an MP.
