Serial petitioner Ruangkrai Leekitwattana has found yet another potentially grave offence to accuse Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of committing: making a mini-heart gesture while wearing her civil service dress uniform.
Already pursuing the dissolution of the Pheu Thai Party for being “dominated” by Ms Paetongtarn’s father Thaksin, Mr Ruangkrai has been busy researching the fine print in the ethics section of the Constitution again.
In his latest submission of paperwork to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), he is asking it to look into whether Ms Paetongtarn’s action during a photo session on Sept 7 violated sections 17, 21 and 27 (2) of the constitution.
He also asked whether the case should be forwarded to the Supreme Court to rule under Section 235 (1), and whether she could face a political ban for life under Section 235 (4) of the charter for persuading other cabinet ministers to cross their thumbs and index fingers as they posed at Government House while wearing their white uniforms.
Most cabinet members followed her lead, until an official overseeing the photo session informed them that the gesture was not considered appropriate for people in uniform.
Thai netizens had mixed reactions to the incident, though few saw it as an ethical violation.
In his petition to the NACC, Mr Ruangkrai said videos of the event were easily accessible to the public on TikTok and elsewhere and could damage public faith in the dignity of the premiership.
Mr Ruangkrai, a former senator and a member of the Palang Pracharath Party, has a long track record of targeting politicians he does not like, sometimes successfully.
Most notably, he forced the court-ordered exit of Samak Sundaravej from the prime ministership in 2008 for receiving an honorarium from a TV cooking show.
Meanwhile, the royalist leader of the Thai Pakdee Party, Warong Dechgitvigrom, says he will petition the Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday to investigate whether Thaksin Shinawatra wields undue influence over the Pheu Thai Party.
Paetongtarn, 38, the youngest daughter of Thaksin and Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, is the Pheu Thai leader. She stepped into the role of prime minister after the Constitutional Court removed Srettha Thavisin on Aug 14 for an ethical violation related to appointing ex-convict Pichit Chuenban, Thaksin’s former lawyer, to the cabinet.
Ruangkrai Leekitwattana
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and some cabinet ministers make mini-heart signs during a group photo on Sept 7. (Photo: Nutthawat Wichieanbut)