Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra insisted yesterday the government's rice sales under government-to-government (G-to-G) deals had been reviewed and approved by the Council of State.

She made the comment after a group of senators submitted a petition to the Senate speaker on Tuesday seeking a Constitution Court ruling on whether the government's G-to-G rice sales required approval from parliament under Section 190 of the charter.

The senators argue that the G-to-G contracts, worth more than 114 billion baht, affect the country's trade and investment and could damage the nation's economic security by incurring public debt that could potentially cause a financial crisis.

Consequently, the senators claim, the contracts would require parliamentary approval under Section 190 of the constitution, as the deals could affect all citizens of the country.

The prime minister said the rice deals were undertaken in line with the law and were examined by the government's legal adviser, the Council of State.

She said the government was willing to supply information to show that the sales of rice were in compliance with the law.

Ms Yingluck also urged critics of the scheme to focus on the benefits to farmers and pledged to do more to plug any loopholes.

"There are concerns [about the scheme] but I want us to look at the big picture, otherwise our efforts to help farmers will not materialise," she said.

She shrugged off a suggestion by Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) researchers, who have called on the government to lower the pledging price from 15,000 baht a tonne to 13,000 baht, in line with the market price.

Ms Yingluck demanded to know the basis on which the TDRI price was deduced, saying the old pricing system was unfair.

"The scheme was introduced to boost farmers' incomes. Previously rice prices were way too low for farmers," she said.

The government would review pricing if the situation called for it, she added.

Pol Gen Worapong Chiewpreecha, deputy national police chief, said he had ordered all regional police commissioners to check on rice stocks in warehouses in their regions to prevent thieves from stealing rice. The order was issued yesterday after 11,000 tonnes of rice recently vanished from a warehouse in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Source: The Nation