Thailand Prime Minister Prayut ordered reporter to provide evidence of bribing MPs
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha denied a rumor that MPs would be paid quite a bit of money to vote against him in a no-confidence vote.
A reporter asked Prime Minister Prayut yesterday in the government building about the rumour that every MP who votes against him would receive 5 to 30 million Thai baht.
Prime Minister Prayut therefore casually shook his head and told the reporter: “Come with evidence, everyone is just chatting. †
He was also asked whether there was a possibility that a Member of Parliament could be ‘bought’ for that amount. The prime minister replied that he had no idea because he had never done anything like this before.
When Prayut was asked if it was just “price manipulation” and not that MPs would actually vote against him, he didn’t answer but instead bowed in a wai as he walked into the yard.
The reporter also asked why anyone would spread such a rumour and how the prime minister “reads the situation”. Prayut told the reporter to investigate. And when asked who he thought spread the rumour, Prayut replied with a question, “Where does the news come from?”
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan announced that he has a chat with Prayut every day
Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin also denied the rumour, saying the “price was too high” compared to what was left of the current reign.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Trairong Suwannakhiri is said to have posted on his Facebook page on Monday that some MPs were being offered 5 to 30 million Thai baht to vote against the government over the next two or three months, including during a confidence debate or a vote on the budget 2023.
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