By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha today (Oct. 5) bowed to pressure from a coalition partner over the running of four agencies attached to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
Prayut today rescinded his own directive issued last week for Deputy Prime Minister/Palang Pracharath Party leader Prawit Wongsuwan to take charge of the Agricultural Land Reform Office, the Marketing Organisation for Farmers, the Land Development Department and the Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department and thus returned the four agencies attached to the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to Deputy Prime Minister/Democrat Party leader Jurin Laksanavisit who currently takes charge of the portfolio as a whole.
Prayut declined to comment whether he has backed down in the face of the opposition raised by the Democrat Party against the assignment of Prawit at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry for fear that Jurin’s party might possibly withdraw from the Palang Pracharath-led coalition government.
Prayut had earlier assigned the Palang Pracharath Party leader to look after those agencies instead of the Democrat Party leader following last month’s ouster of Palang Pracharath Party secretary general Thammanat Prompow as deputy agriculture and cooperatives minister.
The unprecedented assignment for Prawit at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry had apparently dissatisfied Jurin’s party with its secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on still performing as agriculture and cooperatives minister.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Home Page: Deputy Prime Minister/Democrat Party leader Jurin Laksanavisit. Photos: Siam Rath
