A large group of senators on Tuesday submitted petitioned the Senate speaker to seek the Constitution Court's ruling whether the government's rice sales under government-to-government (G-to-G) deals required approval from parliament under Section 190 of the constitution.
The petition, signed by 67 senators, was accepted by Surachai Liangboonlertchai, the first deputy speaker.
Paiboon Nititawan, a senator in the Group of 40, said the G-to-G contracts to sell 7.32 million tonnes of rice worth more than 114 billion baht concerned the country's trade and investment. They might affect economic security, incur a public debt and cause financial and monetary crisis in the future, affecting all people in the country.
The senator said the government G-to-G rice sale contracts, therefore, might require parliamentary approval under Section 190 of the constitution.
Mr Surachai said he would first verify the documents, including the names of the senators, before forwarding the petition to the Constitution Court.