By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PRIME MINISTER PAETONGTARN Shinawatra was relentlessly taken to task today (March 24) for alleged lack of credentials and doing without evident honesty whilst virtually running the country as a “puppet” leader pulled around by her father/de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra.
During the first day of a two-day censure debate in the House of Representatives, People’s-led opposition MPs lashed out at the woman prime minister who concurrently acts as leader of the largest ruling Pheu Thai.
Paetongtarn was accused of doing without credentials as head of government allegedly in sheer lack of qualifications, competence, responsibility, honesty and leadership with People’s MPs and other opposition lawmakers taking the floor to accuse the prime minister’s billionaire, power-playing father of striking a secret deal at the cost of the country’s interests for the sake of the Shinawatra family’s interests.
The de facto Pheu Thai boss had allegedly reached the historic, hush-hush deal with unnamed powers-that-be to the extent that he return home from self-exile abroad without being subsequently put behind bars and turning himself into a power player who had clandestinely orchestrated the surprise setup of the Pheu Thai-led government without the Move Forward but with the Palang Pracharath and Ruam Thai Sang Chart as coalition partners, allocated cabinet portfolios among coalition partners, named certain Pheu Thai figures for cabinet members and been discreetly obliged to see to it that one of his daughter’s predecessors, namely coup leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, be saved from paying billions of baht in collateral damage due to a chronic, international lawsuit which Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd had filed against Thailand over Akara Resources gold mining projects earlier shut down at his order.
People’s MP Itthipol Chalathornsiri alleged that the prime minister had managed to unduly cover up Prayut’s alleged wrongdoings by deliberately failing to revoke operating licences for Akara gold mining projects or to bring the former prime minister to justice for such alleged fiascos.
A few MPs of the Ruam Thai Sang Chart, the third largest coalition partner, rose to protest the People’s MP in defence of their de facto party boss Prayut.
As part of the “secret deal done in exchange for the country’s interests”, Itthipol charged that certain Ruam Thai Sang Chart figures had been named industry minister in the times of the Pheu Thai-led government to help see to it that Prayut be permanently kept from being held accountable for damage done to the Akara gold mining projects.
The People’s MP alleged that the prime minister had deliberately managed to indefinitely delay lawsuits against the Kingsgate or Akara Resources which could have been otherwise proceeded by varied government agencies such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Department of Special Investigation.
People’s MP Wiroj Lakhanaadisorn charged that the prime minister had taken legal loopholes and cover-ups to evade 218 million baht in personal income tax for some 4.4 billion baht in value of corporate shares transferred from her Shinawatra family members and close relatives to herself.
Nevertheless, Paetongtarn, who was officially reported to possess some 13 billion baht in assets, bluntly denied tax evasion allegations, saying all wealth of the Shinawatra family members and her own had been legally, stringently examined.
“No purchases of corporate shares have been literally made in cash for which promissory notes had been handed out between family members and me, thus warranting tax payments,” Paetongtarn commented, saying tax payments for such business transactions are scheduled to start next year.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. Photos: Thai Rath
Also read: Somchai gives Prawit high marks, slams PM
Thaksin helps PM gear for censure debate starting tomorrow
Censure debate against PM tipped to be scorching, relentless
Shoppers flee in panic as vocational students clash at shopping mall
Hired queuers brawl over limited edition handbag
