Buddhipongse Punnakanta has resigned as deputy secretary-general to the prime minister and government spokesman, effective on Tuesday.
He said he submitted the resignation on the previous day because he wished to do political work. He earlier joined pro-regime Palang Pracharath Party as chairman of the election strategic committee for Bangkok.
“After I decided to be an MP candidate of the party, I would like to do political work. I’ll apply to be a party-list MP candidate today or tomorrow and I can’t work in both capacities,” he said.
The prime minister will appoint his substitute on Tuesday, he added.
“I was not pressured to quit even though I'm one of the defendants in a 2014 PDRC case. The case is in the stage of witness examination by the first court and I can still do everything.”
Mr Buddhipongse was referring to the case against 43 core members of People's Democratic Reform Committee. He was one of the nine Democrat Party MPs who resigned from the party to join the PDRC. The group took to the streets in late 2013 to oust then prime minister Yingluck after her party pushed through a political amnesty bill. After Yingluck resigned and called a general election, the group demanded political reform before the poll could take place. The stalemate culminated in the military coup in May 2014.
Along with 43 others PDRC core members, he was charged with collaborating in an insurrection, terrorism and criminal association, among others.
Mr Buddhipongse was formerly a Democrat Party MP for Bangkok’s Phaya Thai district in a 2002 by-election and for the capital’s Huai Khwang district in the 2011 general election.
He was named deputy secretary to the prime minister on politics in September last year and was later named government spokesman.
