Thaksin denies Pallop’s claim

Says he had no role in Pheu Thai ‘expulsion’

Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra has denied having anything to do with a former adviser to ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Gen Pallop Pinmanee, being purged from the Pheu Thai Party.

The accusation could also provide grounds for dissolving the main opposition party.

In a news report carried by The Room 44 news website, Thaksin said he had no knowledge of Gen Pallop being booted out as a Pheu Thai member.

The fugitive former premier added he has not spoken to Gen Pallop for many years. He had no idea why Gen Pallop, who also formerly served as director of the Internal Security Operations Command, was only now making a fuss about his dismissal from Pheu Thai.

Gen Pallop said on Monday he only found out he had been kicked out by a close aide while planning to attend the party assembly in Khon Kaen in late October.

In a phone conversation with Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew, Gen Pallop claimed Dr Cholnan had admitted Thaksin was behind the expulsion.

Yesterday, Dr Cholnan dismissed as untrue Thaksin’s role in kicking Gen Pallop out. He explained that Gen Pallop remains a life-time member, having paid the party admission fee on April 4, 2018.

Dr Cholnan added no Pheu Thai member can be expelled unless they have violated the party rules or are ineligible to hold membership under the political parties law.

He also insisted it was impossible for anyone outside the party to order Gen Pallop’s dismissal. The close aide may have picked up the wrong information and passed it on to Gen Pallop, the Pheu Thai leader said.

On Monday, Gen Pallop said he was disappointed and baffled that he had been singled out. The party also gave him no notice about his expulsion, he added.

His political record pre-dated even the formation of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party led by Thaksin, which morphed eventually into Pheu Thai. Gen Pallop also supported the red-shirt movement that was closely aligned with Pheu Thai.

Yesterday, Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a member of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, said he has formerly asked Election Commission (EC) chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong to open a factfinding probe into Gen Pallop’s membership woes which could create a reason for disbanding Pheu Thai.

The Political Parties Act bars a nonmember from influencing a party’s affairs in any way. Thaksin is not a Pheu Thai member.

But first, Mr Ruangkrai said the EC should establish if Gen Pallop has been excluded as a member of Pheu Thai and, if so, whether Thaksin had ordered Gen Pallop’s expulsion. Also, the EC should look into whether Gen Pallop had indeed called Dr Cholnan on the phone which led him to find out about Thaksin’s alleged expulsion order.

Meanwhile, Dr Cholnan warned that anyone seeking the disbandment of his party could face prosecution for filing a false petition.