Recent participation of Privy Council members in a meeting with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is not interference in government affairs, said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who accused critics of lacking understanding of state administration.
Speaking at Government House on Thursday, Mr Anutin said the arrangement had been in place for nearly a decade and was a normal practice. He was responding to the main opposition People's Party's criticism over the presence of privy councillors in the meeting on Tuesday. "It was not a decision-making meeting or an intervention," he said. "It was simply a presentation of operational results."
The prime minister explained that Privy Council members regularly receive updates from state agencies, adding that many of them were former senior civil servants with extensive administrative experience.
"It is actually beneficial to present information and listen to the views of highly experienced individuals," he said.
PP leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut has said the prime minister should reconsider involving Privy Council members in public policy meetings and warned against bringing the higher institution into politics.
Asked about Mr Natthaphong's remarks, Mr Anutin rejected the accusation. "That has never happened. It exists only in what some people keep trying to say," he said. "The public understands very well what they are trying to achieve."
Mr Anutin said the opposition's interpretation of the meeting was entirely incorrect, stressing that there had been no orders issued and no interference in the work of government agencies.
"They still do not even understand how state administration works, yet they are eager to criticise out of resentment," he said.
Earlier on Thursday at parliament, Mr Natthaphong said meetings involving Privy Council members could create public perceptions that royal institutions were directly involved in government policymaking.
