Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has been angered by accusations on ASTV and in social media that he has taken sides with the Shinawatra family.
The reports followed Gen Prayuth's rejection of a demand by anti-government protesters for the army to stop serving the government.
Gen Prayuth yesterday expressed anger when asked to respond to the accusations and called on his critics not to drag him into the anti-government movement.
“You [anti-government protesters] can do what you want to do, but what I do is not your business,” Gen Prayuth said. “Don’t mix mine with yours.”
ASTV has made no secret of its support for the anti-government protest. The channel's executive, Sondhi Limthongkul, is a former co-leader of anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy and a fierce critic of the caretaker Yingluck Shinawatra government.
Mr Sondhi claimed Gen Prayuth “showed his clear stance to stand by Thaksin” when the army chief rejected People’s Democratic Reform Committee secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban's request for the military to stop working with the government and support his protest group.
The rejection also drew strong reactions from anti-government protesters on social media, with some branding the general “an employee of the Yingluck company”.