Govt whips to call for joint session
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Government whips resolved yesterday to call on the House and Senate to hold a joint meeting tomorrow in order to find a way out of the current political impasse and the Preah Vihear dispute, chief whip Aumnuay Khlangpha said.
The proposal is based on the Constitution’s Article 179, which says that in case of big problems facing the administration, the premier can tell the Parliament speaker that a general debate be held at a joint meeting of both lower and upper houses. However, no resolution can be passed.
Aumnuay held a meeting with Parliament’s team of legal advisers later in the day to look for a way to terminate the controversial amnesty bill ahead of the 180-day waiting period after it undergoes its first reading in the Senate. The Senate was expected to reject the bill yesterday or today.
He added that Parliament’s legal adviser had confirmed the bill could not be killed before the 180-day period is completed. “If we do that, we will be unconstitutional right away,” he said.
The whips have also set up a committee, chaired by Pheu Thai MP Woravat Auapinyakul, to monitor all political rallies.
A source from the government’s team of legal advisers said Pheu Thai MP Pichit Chuenban had called on the 300 coalition MPs to confirm in a letter to the House Speaker that they would not revive the bill. However, many MPs rejected the idea, saying they had no confidence this would take the protesters off the streets.
“The Pheu Thai Party doesn’t know when the House of Representatives will be dissolved, and the MPs are worried that other more important issues on the legislative agenda, such as amending Articles 68 and 237 of the Constitution, will be put on the backburner,” a source said.
He said legal experts lead by Pichit had called on the ruling party’s strategic committee asking that it consider the third reading of the amendment to Article 291.
