The Pheu Thai Party denies former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is pulling the strings behind the former ruling party, which may be considered a violation of the new charter prohibiting a party from being influenced or controlled by an outsider.
The move came after some media reports quoted a security source as claiming a National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) legal team is following up on recent meetings between party members and executives, and Thaksin, in China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The NCPO wants to find out if those meetings could be considered proof that the party is being influenced by Thaksin who is considered an outsider.
In a statement issued by the party Thursday, Phumtham Wechayachai, the party's secretary-general, said the meetings of the party's people and Thaksin had nothing to do with the party's political affairs.
Photo FB/WatanaMuangsook
The meetings simply were friendship visits to Thaksin for whom party members and executives still have much respect, Mr Phumtham said.
Any decisions by Pheu Thai are always made by its executives who listen to opinions from the party's branches and its supporters, so it is impossible for anyone else to interfere with the party's decision-making process, Mr Phumtham said.
Any relaying of messages of concern from a respected figure to the party's members should never be considered an order or an act of controlling or influencing the party, which may be exploited as a condition to seek the party's dissolution, he said.
That political tactic has always been used, which in a way reflects feelings of insecurity on the part of the side using it to destroy its opponents, he said. He said he was emphasising that all party members need to be cautious about any messages they communicate in public.
Such messages, he said, may lead to misunderstandings or be falsely interpreted by those attempting to attack the party.
Watana Muangsook, a key Pheu Thai figure, posted on his Facebook page Thursday that he was among the people who visited Thaksin and Yingluck during the past Chinese New Year festival.
He posted a picture of him meeting Thaksin. It is not known how many former MPs from the party went to see the Shinawatras.
Mr Watana said he travelled to meet Thaksin and Yingluck because he wanted to hear Chinese New Year wishes from the two, as he holds them in high regard.
He dismissed rumours Thaksin would select the new Pheu Thai leader himself. Mr Watana hinted that the new party leader will be someone who has been fighting side by side with the party since the military coup toppled the Pheu Thai-led government in 2014.
He said he believed the new party leader will be a familiar face and there will be no surprise in the selection's results.
As for potential candidates for the party's nomination of a prospective prime minister in case it has a chance to lead the formation of a new government after the next general election, he said no decision had been made. Among potential Pheu Thai candidates are Sudarat Keyuraphan, Chaturon Chaisang, Bhokin Bhalakula, Chaikasem Nitisiri, and Phongthep Thepkanjana, Mr Watana said.