The House Police Affairs Committee is determined to meet with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in person, to discuss alleged political interference in the police reshuffle.

The committee had earlier asked the prime minister to testify to them over his recent statement, made during a meeting of the Pheu Thai party, regarding the police reshuffle, in particular police superintendents. He was quoted to have said that he had received many requests for promotions involving police superintendents, with several of them being granted and others not.

Instead, the prime minister assigned Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsuthin to meet with the committee in parliament today.

During the hearing, Somsak told the committee that there are rules specified in the Constitution and the Police Service Act which govern the police reshuffle and that political appointees or politicians cannot interfere.

He said that there are also rules for police officers who feel they have not been fairly treated in the reshuffle and they can lodge appeals, adding that the prime minister’s controversial statement could be interpreted various ways, depending on the individual’s position.

Somsak maintains that the prime minister merely intended to send a message that he wants to see good people promoted, to help solve illegal narcotic and informal debt problems.

The committee chairman, Chaichana Detdecho of the Democrat party, said that the issue in question is, however, not about committing an offence, but about the prime minister’s remark, and the right person to make explain it is the prime minister himself.

The chair also said that the prime minister was attending an important seminar, being held by the Pheu Thai party, and had assigned the deputy prime minister to meet the committee on his behalf, adding that the committee is ready to meet the prime minister in person, either at Government House or parliament, to ask about his statement over police promotions.

The committee’s vice chairman, Nattapong Sumanotham of the Move Forward party, questioned Somsak as to why the prime minister said there were people who were satisfied and disappointed with the police promotions.

Instead of directly responding to the question asked, Somsak quoted a statement from the national police chief, Pol Gen Torsak Sukvimol, who insisted that there were no special favours granted in the police reshuffle.