Thai PM Admits Difficulty In Explaining Rice-Pledging Scheme To Anti-Graft Agency

BANGKOK, March 30 (TNA) – Thailand’s Caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Sunday admitted difficulty in explaining her government-sponsored rice-pledging scheme which is accused of tainted with corruption to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). Blaming NACC on giving her little time to study the charges in which she will have to either explain to the independent agency by herself or submit her explanations to it on Monday, Miss Yingluck said that she did not have enough time to study the extra 280 pages of documents relating to corruption in the rice-pledging programme, designed to assist farmers, which were forwarded to her on March 27. NACC earlier forwarded 49 pages of documents to Yingluck and given her the extra 280 pages upon requests by her lawyer. Miss Yingluck, also caretaker Defence Minister, said information asked from several agencies to help her in making the clarifications was not yet sent because they claimed to have insufficient time in compiling the information. Prompong Nopparit, spokesman of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, also charged that NACC was bias in investigating Miss Yingluck as the agency seemed to speed on the case in order to make a “political vacuum” so that an outsider could be appointed prime minister under the Article 7 of the Constitution. While it is still unknown whether Miss Yingluck would appear in person at NACC on Monday, Ong-art Klampaiboon, deputy leader of the major opposition Democrat Party, said she should be there personally if she is confident that she is not guilty. (TNA)