Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday denied that he sent any signal on the ruling by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on the impeachment of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha denies sending any signal on the impeachment case against his predecessor Yingluck Shinawatra. (Photo by Thiti Wannamontha)
He was responding to key members of her Pheu Thai Party who recently complained that the NLA's direction had been set beforehand - to remove Ms Yingluck retroactively as the prime minister and consequently suspend her political rights for five years for her failure to stop the loss-ridden rice-pledging scheme of her government.
Reporters asked Gen Prayut whether Ms Yingluck would be retroactively removed from her past position by the NLA this week.
“You’d better ask a fortune teller. Do not ask any silly questions,” he replied.
Asked to comment further on the critics' claims that his National Council for Peace and Order directed the NLA to remove Ms Yingluck, Gen Prayut said that reporters should pose this question to the critics.
“I haven't sent any signal. There is no signal,” Gen Prayut said.
The NLA is expected to vote this Friday on the impeachment of Ms Yingluck. The National Anti-Corruption Commission has accused her of failing to stop the huge losses in her government's rice-pledging scheme. The Finance Ministry estimated the loss exceeded 500 billion baht.