The opposition had reneged on a pledge to complete scrutiny of charter amendment bills in 15 days.
Somsak: Wants to settle issue for good
This has forced the parliament president to call a joint sitting to settle the issue once and for all, chief government whip Amnuay Khlangpha says.
He said the opposition whip had initially agreed with the government and Senate whips on a 15-day scrutiny timeframe, but later demanded a 60-day period.
However, the proposed 60 days had not been put to a vote due to a lack of a quorum, prompting Parliament president Somsak Kiatsuranont to set a 15-day time-frame which the three whips had originally agreed upon.
He said Mr Somsak had not made an error of judgement in setting a 15-day scrutiny period by calling for a joint sitting of parliament next Thursday.
"He [Mr Somsak] wants to show he is cooperating so he decided to put the opposition's 60-day demand to a vote. It doesn't mean he has made a mistake or the process isn't legitimate," he said.
Parliament is expected to reconvene on May 28 and the next session will focus on the 2014 budget bill and the 2-trillion-baht borrowing bill, Mr Amnuay said.
Whether the charter amendments are debated in the next parliament session will depend on the charter review committees, he said.
Meanwhile, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday vowed to lead a campaign to block the proposed amendment to Section 190 to prevent "cheats" from exploiting the national interest.
Under the proposed change to Section 190, the signing of international contracts would be carried out without parliament's approval.
Mr Abhisit said the government's claim that Section 190 was hampering efficiency was a feeble excuse because it could easily enact laws to facilitate its work.
If the change was made, parliament would not be able to examine international treaties, putting the national interest at risk, he said.
"We all know a certain 'master' has business interests in overlapping maritime territory. The amendment is to make sure that any deal will go through without scrutiny," he said.
"It is true that I am blocking. I am blocking the cheats from exploiting national interests," the opposition leader said.
Asked about deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's verbal attacks on the Constitution Court over its decision to accept a petition against charter amendment bills, Mr Abhisit said it was normal for Thaksin to criticise people who disagreed with him.
Mr Abhisit also voiced concern about ballooning public debt and urged the government to include a provision in the 2-trillion-baht borrowing bill to make sure the country's debt would be properly managed.
He was responding to a report that public debt accounted for 44% of the country's gross domestic product. He said it would climb higher when the government proceeded with the borrowing of 350 billion baht for its water management project in June, not to mention the planned borrowing of 2 trillion baht to fund infrastructure plans.
"I suggest the government write it down in the bill that if the public debt exceeds 50% of GDP or if it can't achieve a balanced budget as promised, then it will stop borrowing and manage the debts," he said.