The Pheu Thai party has called for the people -- as well as all monitoring agencies -- to keep an eye on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and four cabinet ministers who are key members of the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), to see if they are using government time and other resources for political gain over other political parties.
The call was made on Sunday by Ladawan Wongsriwong, the Pheu Thai spokeswoman, who said it would be useless to call for Gen Prayut and the four cabinet members to show ethical responsibility by resigning after the decree on the election of MPs was issued.
It looks as though they would remain in their positions until a new government is formed by citing Sections 264 and 265 of the constitution, Mrs Ladawan said.
The four ministers are Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana, the PPRP leader; Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong, the party secretary-general; Science and Technology Minister Suvit Maesincee, the deputy leader; and Prime Minister’s Office Minister Kobsak Pootralkool, the spokesman and party executive.
"Because [they won't quit, Pheu Thai] would like to call on people and all monitoring agencies to keep an eye on Gen Prayut and the four ministers of the PPRP to see if they are using time, resources and budgets of the government to seek an advantage over other political parties," she said.
Commenting on the observation raised by some academics that no other political parties have been willing to sign an agreement with Pheu Thai to jointly oppose the perpetuation of power by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Mrs Ladawan said that although this may be true, Pheu Thai is still confident that people across the country will continue to support the party the way they have done for the past 17 years.
"Therefore, the Pheu Thai Party will join hands with the people to fight for democracy because it has been obvious that for almost five years the use of extrajudicial power has affected the people's livelihoods and quality of life, judging from the fact that the lack of effective measures against hazardous dust particles in Bangkok has caused tens of thousands of children to fall sick," Mrs Ladawan said.
