Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has renewed a war of words with Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who was upset at seeing a former subordinate joining the Thai Raksa Chart Party.
The subject of their latest spat centred on former deputy supreme commander Yossanan Raicharoen, who on Tuesday joined Thai Raksa Chart and immediately attacked the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). "The lessons over the past four years since the power seizure have shown the country is not moving forward, people are suffering and the economy shows no growth," Gen Yossanan said after applying for membership in the party.
His statement made at the party headquarters irked Gen Prawit, who on Wednesday called him a "lizard" for changing his stance. He never criticised the regime when he was in the active military position, the deputy prime minister said.
"What he has done is not appropriate," Gen Prawit, who is the defence minister, said. then accusing him of "lobbying for positions when he was with the army".
Thaksin thought otherwise and aired his views in a tweet posted hours later.
"Should a soldier entering politics through the right channels be praised more than those doing so by seizing power, Pom?" the former fugitive prime minister tweeted, referring to the nickname of Gen Prawit.
It was the second verbal exchanges between the deputy prime minister and Thaksin since September, when the former prime minister called for political reconciliation. Gen Prawit countered thta Thaksin should clear all legal allegations first.