Bangkok, Nov 28 – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Thursday survived a no-confidence vote in parliament while massive anti-government protests continued, Xinhua news agency reported.
The House of Representatives voted 297:134 in support of the premier following two days of censure debate during which Yingluck responded to criticisms and accusations leveled by the opposition Democrat Party.
Yingluck was slammed by the Democrats over claims of corrupt policies and failure to fight corruption in government, lacking leadership, performing as a puppet for former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and tending to undue interest of the Shinawatra family, among other things.
The premier dismissed all accusations, saying she had never designed any corrupt policies or remained non-committal toward any efforts to fix corruption problems, and that the alleged Thaksin rule had nothing to do with her government.
“Such accusations might probably have been created by imagination. It is impossible for me to have supported any corrupt policy since fighting corruption is one of my primary concerns,” she said.
“Those who may have been accused of perpetrating corruption in office are bound to come under investigation and rule of law. I have never distanced myself from any problems to which I am obliged to find solutions,” she added.
Yingluck has called on former deputy premier Suthep Thaugsuban who was responsbile for organising anti-government protests along with other former legislators of the Democrat Party to hold talks to avert a national political crisis.
Suthep, for whom an arrest warrant was issued following occupation of government offices by protesters since Monday, has rejected the offer.
Yingluck has declared enforcement of the Internal Security Act throughout Bangkok and its adjacent provinces.
– Bernama
