Chief coalition whip upbeat Srettha will survive court case
PM likely to survive case as he consulted everyone before appointing Pichit, says chief whip Wisut
The chief coalition whip expressed confidence on Tuesday that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will survive the case against him in the Constitutional Court.
Wisut Chainaroon, chairman of the coalition coordination committee on parliamentary affairs, said the coalition has not prepared any contingency plans if the court verdict on August 14 is against Srettha, because it is confident the premier will come through unscathed.
A group of 40 now former senators had called on the court to remove Srettha because he had allegedly breached the charter and violated standards by appointing Pichit Chuenban as PM’s Office minister despite his questionable background.
The former senators alleged that Srettha knew well that Pichit was not qualified for the post because he had once been jailed, yet he was appointed.
Wisut said the coalition whips believe Srettha did nothing wrong because he consulted all sides before nominating Pichit for a royal command to nominate him as a Cabinet member.
“The coalition whips have not made any plans because we are confident that the case is not serious. We believe the prime minister did nothing wrong because he consulted all sides first,” he said.
Srettha had also consulted the Council of State, which is the government’s legal advisory board, before appointing Pichit, he added.
“So we are confident that the prime minister will continue serving the people,” Wisut added.
The chief coalition whip, meanwhile, responded in the affirmative when asked if the coalition had discussed the post of deputy House speaker now held by a former Move Forward Party MP, if the party were to be dissolved next week.
Former Move Forward MP Padipat Suntiphada had won the post when the party was trying to form its coalition government. However, after Move Forward became the opposition leader, Padipat refused to step down, so Move Forward had to expel him. Now Padipat is now an MP with opposition member Fair Party.
Wisut said if Move Forward were dissolved on August 7, coalition leader Pheu Thai would have to consult other coalition partners about Padipat’s post.
Padipat stands to be affected because he was a Move Forward Party executive at the time when the party was campaigning for votes. The Election Commission filed a case against the party, accusing it of seeking to overthrow the country’s constitutional monarchy by promising to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code or the draconian lese majeste law.
