Democrats vow loans bill challenge

CHARTER JUDGES WILL BE ASKED TO RULE ONCE SENATE DEBATE ENDS

The opposition Democrat Party will launch an immediate court challenge to the government’s 2 trillion baht borrowing bill after the Senate approves it.

Democrat MP for Bangkok Atthawit Suwannapakdee said the party would petition the Constitution Court against the bill after it passes its third and final reading by senators, expected in about a month.

The bill, which authorises the Finance Ministry to seek loans totalling 2 trillion baht for infrastructure development projects, passed its third reading in the House of Representatives on Friday night by a vote of 287-105.

Mr Atthawit said the Democrat Party will argue the bill violates Section 169 of the constitution by drawing money from sources other than budget bills, as required by law.

The section stipulates that disbursement of state money is authorised only by the budget law, the budget procedure law, the law on budget transfer and the treasury balance law.

But the government is insisting on using the borrowing bill to raise the funds instead, Mr Atthawit said.

The government had claimed the loans do not represent state money, as they will not be included in the Treasury balance. However, Mr Attawit said this claim was wrong, as taxpayers’ money, which is state money, would eventually be called on to pay back the loans.

Mr Atthawit said His Majesty the King’s statement to the Office of the AuditorGeneral on Aug 25, 1999 that ‘‘state money is people’s money’’ would also be cited as another reason for the court to block the bill.

Democrat deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij said using money outside of the regular budget would damage financial discipline, in violation of Chapter 8 of the constitution.

Mr Korn said the government had failed to listen to the opposition’s suggestions that the bill should be revised to avoid breaking the law. ‘‘As a former finance minister, I can say that if the law passes, it will jeopardise the country’s financial system,’’ Mr Korn said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the government was not concerned about a court challenge as it was confident about the bill’s legality.

The government was worried more about lost opportunities if the bill gets bogged down, he told the weekly Yingluck Government Meets the People TV programme yesterday.

About half the 2-trillion-baht total is earmarked for improvements to the rail system including the construction of high-speed train lines.