While Prayut was delivering the government’s policy statement on Thursday, New Economics Party leader Mingkwan Saegnsuwan waited until the prime minister had finished reading the 35-page statement before he rose to embarrass Prayut by telling him that he omitted the most important part – the first paragraph.

Mingkwan noted that Prayut must first inform the parliament that he has been appointed by His Majesty the King before he could deliver the policy statement in the chamber.

“The prime minster skipped the first paragraph, which is important. He must first inform the parliament that he has been appointed the prime minister by a royal command and that his Cabinet members have also been appointed by a royal command. The prime minister did not state this,” Mingkwan argued.

“So, I would like to ask the prime minister whether he wants the policy debate completed in accordance with the constitution or not. We don’t know in what capacity he was speaking. He must declare the status of the prime minister and cabinet before he can talk about the policies.”

Prayut rose to reply saying: “Actually, I am an inexperienced politician – an inexperienced one whom you noted didn’t read that part. I thought it’s in the document that you have read. I don’t understand this procedure. I regard it as an honour for me to be reminded. Thank you for your advice. I am the most junior politician among you in term of experience.”

Prayut then started reading the first paragraph that informed the Parliament that he was appointed by the King on June 9 and that his cabinet was appointed the next day before he ended his reading of the policy statement.

The Constitutional Court issued its verdict on Thursday (July 25).

Tarit had appealed to the charter court under Article 212, seeking annulment of the Civil Court ruling which had ordered the seizure of 49 assets belonging to Tarit and his wife, Wassamol, worth Bt341.797 million plus accrued interest.

The Civil Court had ordered the seizure of the assets under Article 4 and Article 83 of the organic law on prevention of corruption BE 2542 (1999).

Tarit had earlier approached the Court of Appeals and also asked the Constitutional Court to rule the trial procedure as unlawful. Tarit said that under Article 80 of the organic law, the onus should have been on the public prosecutors to prove his guilt and it was not his responsibility to prove his innocence.

But the Constitutional Court cited Article 81 of the same organic law, which required defendants to prove how they had acquired their “unusual wealth”.

The court also reasoned that since Tarit was appealing against the ruling of the primary court and the Civil Court no longer had authority over the case which has been sent to the Court of Appeals, the Constitutional Court had decided to reject the case.

The court found Sonthiyan Chuenruethainaitham, 57, Sakoltee Phattiyakul, 42, Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, 68 and Seree Wongmontha, 70, not guilty of sedition related to the Bangkok Shutdown protests against the Yingluck government from May 23 2013 to May 1 2014.

The four were charged by public prosecutors with insurrection, inciting public disturbances, unlawful gathering, gathering in a group of more than 10 persons to use arms to cause disturbances and to harm others, inciting the public to stop working to pressure the government, and unlawful entries of government offices and others’ properties.

The four defendants were charged with violating Articles 113, 116, 117, 209, 210, 215, 362, 364, and 365 of the Criminal Code and with obstructing the holding of an election by the Election Commission and thus violating Articles 76, 152, and 8 of the 2007 election act. The public prosecutors filed charges against the four in the court in 2014.

The court acquitted the four defendants on the grounds that while they joined the PDRC-led protests against the Yingluck government, they were not leaders who gave orders to the protesters.

According to evidence from the public prosecutors and from the defendants, the four did not give speeches during the protests to tell demonstrators to commit violence, the court ruled.

The court also cited a ruling by the Constitutional Court on case number of 59/2556 to acquit the four. The Constitutional Court ruled that the PDRC demonstrators had constitutional rights based on Article 63 of the then charter to demonstrate out of dissatisfaction with the Yingluck administration enacting an amnesty law to try to whitewash former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The trial started in 015.

About 60 members of the former PDRC came to the court to hear the ruling.

Suthep Thaugsuban, former leader of the PDRC and a founding member of the Action Coalition for Thailand was also in court to hear the ruling and show support for the four. Suthep is facing a trial related to the protests in another case.

Anupong was asked by reporters on his arrival at the TOT auditorium building for the government policy debate if he could comment on Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan’s application for membership of Phalang Pracharat.

Anupong said he had no comment on the issue and added that he had no plans to join the party.

Anupong, one of three generals who led the 2014 coup and became part of the junta, is believed to be one of three main targets of the opposition during the policy debate after Prawit and Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Anupong said he has prepared information to respond to the opposition if it mentions him and his ministry during the debate.

He came with his staff and was welcomed by a group of Phalang Pracharat MPs before being led to the elevator on the way to the meeting room.

Prawit, who played a key role in the 2014 coup, is expected to be a main target of the opposition during the policy debate. Political observers view him as one of the weakest links in the Prayut II government.

Prayut arrived with his staff, including PM’s Secretary General Disthat Hotrakit.

“I’m not excited as I’ve been in office for five years,” Prayut told reporters.

The policy debate is scheduled to last two days and will finish tomorrow.

Political observers believe the opposition will use the policy debate as a warm-up session before later seeking to bring a no-confidence motion against the government. Prayut, who was earlier shielded from attacks by the absolute power of coup orders, is expected to be a main target of the opposition during the policy debate

Thammanas said Prawit applied to be a party member before joining the seminar of Phalang Pracharat MPs in Nakhon Ratchasima over the weekend.

“But I am not certain about the date as the party’s computer system might have problems and did not display the date he applied,” Thammanas said.

Since Prawit became a party member before joining the seminar, his action was not tantamount to an outsider attempting to influence the party’s decisions as alleged by the opposition, Thammanas said.

He added that he is not sure whether Prawit would be given an executive post in the party or not.

Thammanas added that Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has not as yet applied for membership of the Phalang Pracharat.

Security officers of the TOT checked all vehicles, which started arriving at 7.30am. The policy debate is slated to commence at 9.30 in the TOT auditorium.

Explosive ordnance disposal police backed up by police dogs patrolled around the Building 9 where the auditorium is located.

A team of commando police and a water canon truck were also deployed to be on station behind the building in case protesters turn out.

Inside the building, Parliament police and officials checked everyone entering the building. All reporters were required to sign a book and all people were told to walk past the bomb detecting equipment.

Many MPs and senators as well as Cabinet members came to the building early with Finance Minister Uttama Sasvanayana, Deputy Interior Minister Niphon Bunyamanee and Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanas Phromphao arriving at 7.30.

The group, led by Phalang Pracharat’s Yala MP Alidan Alihashoh, held a press conference at Parliament on Wednesday to call on Prayut, who is also defence minister, to meet them to urgently review measures enforced under two security laws.

Also present at the press conference were Bhumjaithai party-list MP Phetdao Tohmeena, opposition Prachachart Party’s Yala MP Sugarno Matha and Narathiwat MP Kamolsak Leewamoh.

Alidan told the press that he and MPs from other parties in the southern border provinces were seeking to meet Prayut, so they can inform him of the ongoing problem in the South and encourage him to review measures for dealing with problems in the region.

He said MPs had found that the martial and emergency laws enforced to deal with violence in the deep South had become the reason for a resurgence in violence. Alidan said violent incidents have heightened over the past week, and the MPs believe the insurgents have stepped up these attacks as a retaliation against authorities.

The latest attack on a security checkpoint in Yala resulted in two deaths and two people getting injured.

Alidan said all MPs from the southern border provinces and senior opposition politicians had agreed that the South border issue should be addressed with cooperation from all sides. Hence, he said, a special House committee should be formed to review the enforcement of the two security laws and seek new measures to bring the violence to an end.

Kamolsak also called on the Army chief in the South to appoint set up a panel to investigate the alleged beating up of insurgent suspect, Abdulloh Esormusor, inside the Ingkhayuth military camp in Pattani.

Abdulloh, 34, was apprehended by security officers at 4pm on Saturday and taken to camp, where he was found unconscious at 3am the following day and rushed to hospital.

Kamolsak said he hopes Abdulloh is the last suspect to be beaten up in custody.

Meanwhile, police have ordered a 50-metre off-limits area around the TOT building in northern Bangkok that have been used as a makeshift parliament house, on Thursday and Friday. The building will be cordoned off to prevent possible disturbances either from supporters or opponents of the government.

Prayut said he was not worried about the upcoming event, insisting that it was a new premiership and a new government. “There is always the right and the left, agreements and disagreements on all issues. This is democracy,” he said.

The PM added that he had already met with ministers who were likely to be targeted by the opposition, especially in the education and transport portfolios. Responding to criticism that the government’s policies were too broad, he suggested his opponents needed to better understand the word.

“The term ‘policies’, if they understand it, then there will be no problem,” he added.

Prayut said he had not decided whether to join the Palang Pracharat Party (PPP), as Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan did few days ago.

He also shrugged off criticism in the media and by opponents about the government’s choice of a resort in Nakhan Ratchasima province as the venue of the PPP meeting that is facing a police investigation on land encroachment. He said a parallel probe by the Natural Resources Ministry was already underway.