Thai govt to endorse extraordinary parliamentary session

Bangkok, Oct 19 (IANS) Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday that the government will endorse an extraordinary session of Parliamen in a bid to avert a looming political crisis in the face of massive street protests.Prayut confirmed at the Government House that the cabinet of ministers at Tuesday's meeting will consider supporting calls for the extraordinary session very shortly to address the political situation, reports Xinhua news agency.The House of Representatives and Senate, which are currently in recess and would be otherwise scheduled to open on November 1, might not only find ways and means to defuse the looming political crisis but to promptly push for constitution amendment.Meanwhile, the Prime Minister denied that the critical emergency rule, currently imposed in Bangkok to stem street protests, might as well cover its neighbouring provinces or others.Neither will curfew be enforced in the Thai capital or anywhere else in the country, he said. In recent weeks, the capital city has witnessed rallies calling for the resignation of Chan-o-cha, who took power in a 2014 coup and won disputed elections last year, the BBC reported.Some are also urging reforms to the monarchy, despite the risk from the country's strict royal defamation laws.A protest in August drew around 10,000 protesters, according to Thai police.Since July there have been regular student-led street protests amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the enforcement of the State of Emergency.