By Thai Newsroom Reporters
RUAM THAI SANG CHART Secretary-General Eknath Prompan today (June 10) shrugged off a premeditated move made by deputy party leader Suchart Chomklin for some of the coalition partner’s MPs to renegade and depart for a lesser-known camp.
Eknath who concurrently acts as industry minister did not name any names other than Suchart who may not only have coerced and cajoled partisan colleagues into skipping over to the New Opportunity whilst remaining practically supportive to the coalition government but called on the Pheu Thai, core of the coalition, to kick out their current camp with his clique of 20-plus renegade MPs leaving for the other camp on the coalition side.
But Eknath maintained that the Ruam Thai Sang Chart will definitely remain unchanged as part of the coalition government as far as party leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, who concurrently acts as deputy prime minister-cum-energy minister, and himself are concerned and that the party’s executive board would undoubtedly prefer to not depose those renegade MPs from partisan membership as obviously demanded by Suchart.
Suchart, who concurrently acts as deputy commerce minister and an MP, alongside some 20 other would-be renegade MPs might probably unknowingly lose their MP status by rebelling against their own party without necessarily being formally expelled from the party, the party’s secretary-general said.
Nevertheless, Suchart and his clique of 20-plus renegade Ruam Thai Sang Chart MPs cannot legally change parties whilst keeping their MP status intact unless they may be formally expelled from their current camp, thus given a 60-day period to switch camps as provided by law.
Suchart had reportedly prepared a letter undersigned by 21 Ruam Thai Sang Chart MPs and addressed to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, to advise that all four Ruam Thai Sang Chart members of cabinet be removed and a few others be named in their place in an imminent cabinet reshuffle.
In addition to himself to be listed in the new cabinet lineup, speculated later this month, Suchart would probably prefer Supattanapong Punmeechaow be named energy minister in lieu of Pirapan. Supattanapong, now a Ruam Thai Sang Chart MP used to hold the energy portfolio in a previous government.
The Suchart-led, New Opportunity-bound clique of MPs would probably follow suit of the Kla Tham MPs influenced and controlled by maverick MP Thammanat Prompao who had led an exodus of 20 renegade MPs from the Palang Pracharath, now part of the opposition bloc, whilst maintaining their pro-government stand at parliament.
The evident conflict of interest among the Ruam Thai Sang Chart rank and file has apparently emerged after de facto party boss/former coup leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had reportedly kept his hands off of politics, thus tempting the de facto Pheu Thai boss to conjure the latest situation in which the military-installed party could probably be ousted from the coalition government to the opposition bloc with more cake to cut and shared between the Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai, the second largest coalition partner under de facto party boss Newin Chidchob, in the new cabinet lineup.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Ruam Thai Sang Chart Secretary-General Eknath Prompan. Photos: Thai Rath
Insert: Ruam Thai Sang Chart deputy leader Suchart Chomklin. Photo: Thai Rath
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