“No problem. And it is no use to cry out for [the junta’s ban on political assembly to be lifted],” Sudarat said yesterday as she joined fellow politicians selling rice as part of a campaign to help farmers following the paddy price crisis.

Sudarat’s remark came amid concerns among politicians on whether National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) chief and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s ban on political gatherings by more than four people would be lifted after promulgation of the constitution which passed an August referendum.

Politicians have said the ban would make it hard for them to prepare for the general election tentatively scheduled for late next year.

Sudarat also asked the authorities not to see the politicians as rivals, urging them to listen to all sectors in order to find mutual resolution and prepare for the election.

Regarding the 20-year national strategic plan enshrined in the charter, she said the government should consult all sectors, adding that the plan had so far not been disclosed to the public.