Opposition chief whip Sutin Klungsang is confident the opposition will be able to petition the national anti-graft body to pursue six corruption cases against certain cabinet ministers who will be grilled in a censure debate from next Monday until Thursday.
The opposition has clear evidence to back its petitions to be lodged with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against these ministers immediately after the censure debate, Mr Sutin said on Thursday.
He was speaking after a meeting of the opposition parties to discuss their preparations for the debate. The opposition will listen to responses by those cabinet ministers during the debate and assess the matter again depending on whether their explanations are convincing or not. If not, a petition will be submitted to the NACC.
Other corruption cases have come to light which are not easy to prove but would have a greater negative impact on the people and the nation, Mr Sutin said, adding these cases would also be included in the debate. "I'm confident that after the debate, a party in the coalition government will give [Palang Pracharat Party] an ultimatum and the government will fall apart afterwards," Mr Sutin said.
He expects a similar scene as witnessed in the past between the Palang Dharma Party and the Democrat Party will repeat itself after this debate.
The opposition also plans to produce short video clips containing summaries of the censure debate and distribute them to the public to keep those who may miss out the televised no-confidence debate informed. "We will never let Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha continue to lead the country with all this evidence of misconduct," said Pheu Thai Party secretary-general Anudith Nakornthap.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai chief strategist Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan said the opposition would argue why the government should not be trusted to continue leading the country. It lacked efficiency in managing the economy, created policies that cause disparity and committed corruption.