Political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana on Sunday sent a petition to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) asking it to investigate 44 Move Forward Party (MFP) MPs to determine whether it was ethical for them to support a bill to amendment the lese majeste law.
The MPs submitted a bill to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, also known as the lese majeste law.
Mr Ruangkrai said his petition was based on the Jan 31 ruling by the Constitutional Court that the MFP's push to amend the lese majeste law was an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy and breached the charter.
Mr Ruangkrai said he initially petitioned the NACC in September 2021 to look into the conduct of the 44 MFP MPs to determine whether they had violated ethical standards stipulated in Section 234 (1) of the 2017 constitution.
In a reply dated Jan 16, 2022, the Office of the NACC said its probe team found the bill to amend the lese majeste law contained flaws and so was not included in the House agenda.
The office said the current charter and House regulations stipulate punishments for those who propose bills deemed contrary to the constitution. However, it advised the petitioner to submit more evidence.
Mr Ruangkrai said the details of the Jan 31 ruling should provide new information for the NACC to reconsider his petition.
He said he also asked the NACC to consider whether the case should be forwarded to the Supreme Court for a ruling under Section 87 of the anti-corruption law.
Section 87 says that if the NACC finds grounds for allegations of a serious ethical violation by political officeholders, it has to forward the case to the Supreme Court for a ruling. If they are found guilty, they could be banned from running in elections.
