Thaksin also a victim of double standard, says Pita as he outlines six goals for Thailand

“That’s untrue. Move Forward Party is doing our work straightforwardly,” he said.

Pita, the initial front-runner to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister, pointed out that Move Forward chief Chaithawat Tulathon, who is also serving as the opposition leader, recently made his interpellations about the matter in Parliament demanding an explanation from the government.

Chaithawat replaced Pita last September after being elected at a general meeting of the party. Pita, who is now chief adviser to the current Move Forward leader, had stepped down to pave the way for his successor to become the opposition leader amidst uncertainty over his status as a member of Parliament.

At that time, Pita was suspended by the Constitutional Court from performing his duties as an MP, pending a verdict in a case he was accused by the Election Commission of violating the Constitution by contesting last year’s general election while holding shares in a media company.

The charismatic politician has resumed his duties as an MP after the court on Wednesday cleared him in the case. The court found that Pita was holding 42,000 shares in iTV Plc, Thailand’s first independent broadcaster, when registering to contest the election but that the company was not operating as a media business at that time, as its broadcasting concession had been revoked by the Prime Minister’s Secretariat Office since 2007.

Pita said on Friday that Thaksin was a victim of political persecution and double standard. “But it does not mean the double standard of today can be used to negate the double standard of the past. It should not happen anyway. There should be the same standard,” he said.

Pita also said that to prevent political persecution and ensure fair political treatment, his party proposed a bill for general amnesty to those facing criminal cases of a political nature.

“This law aims to ensure equality and prevent Thailand from becoming a legal state of the privileged,” he added.

Thaksin returned to the country on August 22 after 15 years of self-imposed exile overseas. He was sent to the Bangkok Remand Prison to serve time for corruption cases stemming from his tenure as Thailand’s prime minister between February 2001 and September 2006.

Following his return, Thaksin got a royal pardon and his eight-year prison term was reduced to one year.

Less than 24 hours after his stay in prison, Thaksin was sent to the Police General Hospital for treatment of an unidentified illness. He has stayed at the hospital until today amidst claims that the ex-PM was enjoying “VIP treatment”.

Thaksin is regarded as the patriarch of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, which is now led by his youngest daughter Paetongtarn.

His long stay outside prison has triggered criticism of double standard, as several inmates with serious health problems reportedly have not received similar treatment from relevant authorities.

Move Forward mentor Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit admitted for the first time in November that he had met with Thaksin in Hong Kong after Thailand’s general election in May last year. Thanathorn remarked that Pheu Thai was his “true friend” and that a future Thailand needed both Move Forward and Pheu Thai.

A tycoon-turned-politician, Thanathorn co-founded and led Move Forward’s predecessor, the now-defunct Future Forward Party, and he is believed to have retained his influence in the main opposition party.

Pita on Friday also unveiled Move Forward’s Strategic Roadmap outlining the party’s six goals to turn Thailand into a “complete democracy” through constitutional amendments, reforms of the military and the bureaucracy, decentralisation of power, and improved social welfare system, among others.

He said his party would propose 47 draft laws to help with the changes and get rid of any legal obstacles to the proposed reforms.