Dozens of National Legislative Assembly (NLA) members are aiming to pass a draft amendment to the 1992 Sangha Act to restore an old tradition in which the King reserves the right to select and appoint a new supreme patriarch.
However, unlike the old act, in this case the prime minister would be able to nominate a candidate without the need for the candidate first being approved by the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC).
Addressing a press conference called yesterday to announce the move, the group of 84 members said the proposed amendment to Section 7 should help resolve current conflicts surrounding the unresolved appointment of the new supreme patriarch.
NLA whip Jetn Sirathranont said the group wants Section 7 to revert back to the way it was in 1962 when the King was the person who selected and appointed a supreme patriarch while the prime minister was only responsible for adopting it for implementation.
Section 7 currently states, following an amendment in 1992, that the King appoints a successor to the supreme patriarch after his predecessor has left office or is unable to perform his duty.
It also states the prime minister, with the council's consent, nominates the candidate to be royally appointed as the new supreme patriarch.
The change is aimed to overcome the present impasse in which Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has declined to pass on to the King the nomination of Somdej Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, whom the SSC nominated as the country's 20th supreme patriarch, said Mr Jetn.
The SSC's nomination of Somdej Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, abbot of Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen, has triggered heated debate over whether he should be nominated as he is facing criminal charges of car tax evasion. Gen Prayut wants the matter cleared up first.
The DSI claims Somdet Chuang's vintage Mercedes-Benz was linked to falsified import papers and tax evasion.
It raised the possibility the 90-year-old abbot, and supreme patriarch nominee, may face legal action.
The NLA group plans to submit the draft amendment to Section 7 of the Sangha Act to the cabinet through PM's Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck tomorrow, said Mr Jetn. The cabinet will approve the draft amendment or propose another draft to be deliberated along with the NLA's version, he said.