Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said that the deputy leader of the Democrat Party, Nipit Intarasombat, must take responsibility for comments, which alleged the government's assistance to loan-shark victims was "fake".
"One must be held responsible for what one says," Gen Prawit said when asked if the government plans to pursue legal action against Mr Nipit.
Previously, the Democrat deputy leader wrote on his Facebook page comments about police mediation efforts between loan sharks and their debtors, which was touted as a success after many land title deeds previously kept as collateral by loan sharks were returned.
In the post, Mr Nipit wrote that he doubted the authenticity of the land title deeds that were returned "by a deputy prime minister" to scores of local residents in ceremonies across a number of provinces -- an apparent dig at Gen Prawit, who attended a number of ceremonies wherein he returned title deeds to loan-shark victims.
Mr Nipit also speculated that some police officers may have set up such events to please "a senior figure in exchange for promotions".
He went on to accuse police of dereliction of duty for failing to prosecute loan sharks for charging excessive interest on loans and negotiating with them instead.
Gen Prawit said yesterday that all of the returned title deeds were real and can be independently verified.
He also said that the agreements concern creditors and debtors only, and since police and other officials only acted as mediators, they could not be charged with dereliction of duty.