Mr Krisada Chinavicharana on Wednesday tendered his letter of resignation as deputy finance minister, reportedly displeased with new duties after reshuffle but Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin urgently asked Mr Krisada, a former permanent secretary for the ministry, to reconsider his decision to step down.
The sources from the Government House said that Mr Krisada tendered his letter of resignation amid speculation that he was unhappy with the responsibilities assigned by newly appointed Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira.
Previously, Mr Srettha held the position of Prime Minister and Finance Minister concurrently, and the ministry had two deputies, namely Mr Jullapong Amornvivat and Mr Krisada. Mr Krisada, then, oversaw major offices, such as Revenue and Excise Departments and Government Lottery Office but the recent cabinet reshuffle saw Mr Pichai become the minister, and Mr Paopoom Rojanasakul was added as a third deputy finance minister. The resulting reassignment of duties left Mr Krisada only overseeing the Public Debt Management Office and other minor departments.
Mr Srettha says that after he was informed about Mr Krisada’s decision, he made a hasty phone call to Mr Krisda who confirmed that his resignation letter is on the way to the Prime Minister. Mr Srettha, in a bid to halt the resignation, told Mr Krisada to reconsider his decision to step down.
The Prime Minister said he did not want this to be occurred, so more talks were needed. He said that if Mr Krisada is not happy with the latest assignments, there are plenty of projects at the ministry to carry out and these tasks can work with the Office of the Prime Minister.
The Minister of Finance is ready to assign additional responsibilities to him.
Mr Srettha says he asked Mr Krisada to think it over and sleep on it. He would not approve the resignation at the moment. (TNA)
