The opposition is pushing for amendments to Section 256 of the constitution to make it easier to seek charter revisions and set up a new drafting assembly to write an entirely new constitution, Pheu Thai Party deputy leader Cholnan Srikaew said.
He said the proposed amendments are intended to open the way for the public to take part in the amendment process.
Under Section 256, a constitutional amendment requires the support of at least one-third of all 250 senators, or 84 of them. This requirement is seen as a major hurdle for any attempts to revise the constitution.
Dr Cholnan admitted the amendments will be met with resistance from senators who are reluctant to relinquish their power.
He made the remarks after the House of Representatives on Wednesday agreed by a vote of 445, with three abstentions, to set up a House committee to study constitutional amendments.
The committee will comprise 49 members and the names have been forwarded to the government whips for approval.
The committee will be made up of 12 cabinet ministers, 19 opposition lawmakers and 18 coalition lawmakers.
After the committee is established, it is expected to convene on Dec 24 to vote in the chairman and deputies.
The committee will be given 120 days to finish its job.
Dr Cholnan said he has no objections to Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, adviser to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, becoming the committee's chairman.
Mr Pirapan has plenty of political experience and is politically neutral, Dr Cholnan said, adding Pheu Thai can accept him if he is chosen to chair the committee.
A government whip meeting on Wednesday resolved to put forth Mr Pirapan's name as a candidate to chair the committee, whose main task is to study parts of the constitution which will be amended, and how to go about amending them.
Mr Pirapan, widely seen as a favourite for the chairman's job, was named an adviser to the prime minister only a week after he quit as a Democrat member.
He said earlier that he only wanted to help the government fight corruption, and had no plans to join another party for the time being.
Mr Pirapan said on Thursday he should have no problems if he is selected because he used to chair several House committees in the past.
Phongthep Thepkanjana, a key Pheu Thai figure who has also been named as one of the committee's members, said the opposition has not yet decided who will be nominated as a candidate to chair the committee, though he said it would be okay if Mr Pirapan becomes the chairman.
"He is a lawyer and a former judge. He is not the type that will create problems," Mr Phongthep said, adding that no matter who becomes the committee's chairman, he or she cannot dominate other committee members.
Opposition Seri Ruam Thai Party leader Sereepisuth Temeeyaves said the party has nominated Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, a former election commissioner, to be committee chairman.
"He is suited for the role and will propose ideas to amend provisions which are problematic," he said.
Wanwichit Boonprong, a political science expert at Rangsit University, welcomed the move to set up the committee, saying this will give critics and supporters of the constitution an opportunity to talk through their differences.
"However, some of the committee's members represent groups which were involved in political conflicts in the past and it is likely that they will clash with each other during committee meetings," he said.
Among them is Sonthiyan Chuenruethainaitham, a committee member under the Palang Pracharath Party's quota, who is likely to clash with members from the Future Forward Party, Mr Wanwichit said.
Meanwhile, Yutthaporn Isarachai, a political scientist from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said that the make-up of the committee is balanced and varied, though it may be difficult for them to achieve an agreement acceptable to all sides.
"It is essential that public forums be held to gauge public opinion on the matter," he said.