Former agriculture minister Thamanat Prompow is suing three public figures for defamation for accusing him of interfering in the work of his successor.
Thamanat has appointed Thanadon Suwannarit as his lawyer in filing defamation lawsuits against legal scholar Jade Donavanik; Boonyod Sukthinthai, a former Bangkok MP and a social media programme host; and Thai Pakdee Party leader Warong Dechgitvigrom.
Mr Thanadon filed the complaints with the Nang Loeng police in Bangkok on Tuesday.
According to the lawyer, the three have spoken in the media on separate occasions accusing Thamanat of acting improperly by interfering with the work of Agriculture Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat during the latter’s flood inspection tour of Chai Nat and Ayutthaya this week.
Thamanat was pictured attending a meeting with officials who delivered a briefing on the water situation. At the meeting, Thamanat was seated in the middle, flanked by Ms Narumon and the two agriculture deputy ministers, Itthi Sirilathayakorn and Akara Prompow, Thamanat’s brother.
The three individuals suggested Thamanat appeared to be directing the work of the ministry even though he has been replaced by Ms Narumon. This amounts to interference in the executive branch which would violate Section 185 of the constitution, they said.
Mr Thanadon said the accusation had misled people into assuming Thamanat does not know enough about the law. The lawyer insisted that any remarks made about a person may be acceptable as long as they are constructive.
However, he said this criticism of Thamanat was, in effect, defamatory.
He said Thamanat was free to join the inspection tour as he was in the middle of handing over his ministerial responsibilities to Ms Narumon. Since he still held the full power of minister, he was duty-bound to visit flooded areas and affected residents.
However, Dr Warong insisted on his Facebook page that Thamanat was no longer the agriculture minister. He reasoned that the inspection trip came after the royal command was issued, officially appointing the cabinet led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
As such, Thamanat is now an MP and has no place or business getting involved in the affairs of the ministry, according to Dr Warong. He said that if Thamanat continued to take part in inspection trips as though he were still the minister, he would petition the Constitutional Court.
Thamanat spent four years in jail in Australia for heroin trafficking in the 1990s. The Constitutional Court ruled in 2021 that a criminal record in a foreign country did not bar someone from taking a cabinet position in Thailand.
However, more recent judicial interpretations of the constitution’s “ethics” rules have led to tougher questions about the suitability of some ministers. When Ms Paetongtarn was forming her cabinet, Thamanat was noton the list. Instead, he had to settle for aranging a deputy minister’s position for his brother.
The Palang Pracharath Party, meanwhile, is also investigating Thamanat’s alleged interference since he is technically still a party MP despite his recent falling out with leader Prawit Wongsuwon.
Thamanat and his group of at least 20 Palang Pracharath MPs have severed ties with the party. He has said he is exploring legal channels that would permit him and his group to leave the party while retaining their MP status.
The remaining 20 Palang Pracharath MPs who have stuck by Gen Prawit are now in the opposition, a punishment for perceived slights of the Pheu Thai Party and the Shinawatra family.
Palang Pracharath spokesman Piya Tawichai said it was up to Prime Minister Paetongtarn to decide whether she thinks Thamanat interfered withy her ministers.