Col Winthai Suvaree, spokesman for the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said he had received a report that the summons was due to Jatuporn’s frequently expressed opinions about the recently released draft charter.

For instance, Jatuporn had condemned the draft for “robbing rights from people”, Winthai said, adding that statement showed |”inappropriate”, mixed-up views on politics and the charter agendas.

However, a source from the First Army Area said Jatuporn was wanted for comparing soldiers to troublesome hooligans during an appearance on Peace TV

This was despite a previous promise to officers to curb his rhetoric, the source said.

Jatuporn told The Nation after meeting with the military that the summons might have been prompted by his response to a statement by Wanchai Sornsiri, a member of the National Reform Steering Assembly, who had said on TV that politicians objecting to the draft were merely “ghosts shuddering due to holy water”.

“I then said that he was rather a ‘dog shuddering due to hot water’,” Jatuporn said.

“I was talking about Wanchai, but it seems the military took that I meant the premier.”