Padipat Suntiphada, the first deputy House speaker, has denied as untrue a report that he has evaded a summons in a defamation case filed by a Bhumjaithai Party member.
Kasemsan Teethip, a former MP of the now-defunct Future Forward Party who has defected to Bhumjaithai, on Friday filed a complaint with police in Muang district of Phitsanulok province, accusing Mr Padipat, an MP of the Fair Party, of defaming him.
Mr Kasemsan posted on a Facebook page that the police would issue an arrest warrant after December 11 as Mr Padipat had failed to report to the police after receiving a summons twice.
He said this might be an attempt by Mr Padipat to delay and gain protection under parliamentary immunity when the ordinary session reconvenes on Dec 12.
The Bhumjaithai member also posted on Facebook a police document stating that investigators had decided to send an investigation report to the prosecutors, seeking the indictment of Mr Padipat.
In response, Mr Padipat posted on X (formerly Twitter), denying evading police summons.
"I have never received any summons, but have reported to police to acknowledge the charge and entered the interrogation process," Mr Padipat wrote.