Bill 'part of plan to seize country'

The Green Politics group will petition the public sector Anti-Corruption Network to express its stance on the Bt2-trillion infrastructure loan bill and will publish a book on an alleged plan to siphon off the massive funds.
“The book will also expose the alleged plan by Pheu Thai to seize control of the entire country,” Suriyasai Katasila, a coordinator
for the group, said yesterday.
The group would send an open letter to the network, comprising chambers of commerce and civil groups, to express a clear stance on public concerns over the threat of rampant graft in the projects, to be financed by Bt2-trillion in loans.
The bill sailed through its first reading on Friday night by a 284-152 vote.
Green Politics will issue a book to reveal the hidden agenda behind the plan to obtain loans for developing transportation and logistics infrastructure, he said.
The group saw the bill as an obvious attempt by the ruling coalition to avoid several charter provisions by seeking off-budget financing, he said.
The group and several organisations would appeal to the Ombudsmen to seek a ruling on the bill by the Constitution Court.
Green Politics might also file a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission against the Cabinet and coalition MPs for voting for the bill even though it allegedly violates the charter, he said.
Suriyan Thongnu-iad, secretary-general of the Campaign for Popular Democracy (CPD), another civic group, said his group would write a book describing the alleged irregularities behind the plan to seek Bt2-trillion in loans.
The CPD would work with all civil groups and networks to hold seminars to educate the public on the possible repercussions on them from the loans.
The bill clearly violates the charter by foisting a heavy debt burden on people for up to 50 years without giving them any say on the matter.
The bill would undermine good governance and would hold both the nation and the people hostage.
The monstrous debt would also push the country to the brink of economic collapse with MPs acting as a rubber stamp for the practice.
The enactment of the bill without details on the development projects would defeat the rule of law and the legal rationale for the government, which is supposed to enforce the law, he said.