Friends and foes of the top candidate for the next supreme patriarch are mobilising support to pressure Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to act in their favour.
The supreme patriarch is chief of the governing body of the country’s 300,000 Buddhist monks.
Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn of the Maha Nikaya sect, the 90-year-old abbot of Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen, known as Somdet Chuang, is the most senior of the eight candidates for supreme patriarch.
However, some groups have cast doubt on his suitability, accusing him of having a close relationship with the controversial abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Phra Dhammachayo, whom he mentored when Phra Dhammachayo was ordained in 1969.
- No state religion: CDC rejects Buddhist drive
The dispute over his nomination has prompted Gen Prayut to warn that he might not submit a nomination for the next supreme patriarch for His Majesty the King's consideration if the disagreement remains unresolved.
"I have said that the problem must be cleared up first. If not, I cannot nominate a name [for the supreme patriarch role]," Gen Prayut said Monday.
Phra Buddha Isara, the abbot of Wat Onoi in Nakhon Pathom who is in the opposition camp and played a role as an activist monk leading protesters in ousting the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, submitted a list to the prime minister of 300,000 people who oppose the nomination of Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn.
The list was sent via ML Panadda Diskul at the Government House people's service centre.
"Somdet Chuang has a connection with Phra Dhammachayo and if he takes up the position, he may be trying to protect his ally," the activist monk said.
The abbot of Wat Onoi claimed Phra Dhammachayo, in fact, had already been defrocked on April 26, 1999 by virtue of the command of the then Supreme Patriarch.
Phra Buddha Isara also accused the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC), under Somdet Chuang, of defying the late Supreme Patriarch’s command and protecting Phra Dhammachayo.
The premier now holds supreme power in being able to select the person who is revered and accepted by Buddhists for royal endorsement, he said.
Somdet Chuang's supporters strongly countered the opponents and the prime minister.
Phra Methi Thammachan, deputy rector of Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, called on the government to stick to the 1992 Sangha Act, which indicates that the "most senior somdet phra racha khana", or top-ranking senior monk in the Thai monastic hierarchy with the title of somdet, must be considered the country's top monk.
He said the prime minister has the authority only to forward the name, nominated by the SSC, to seek royal endorsement.
The prime minister should not have any ideas of halting the nomination since this would show he does not respect the council, the monk said.
"If the prime minister follows what the council proposes, monks will be pleased, but if not, monks nationwide will carry out a major movement," he said.
United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship chairman Jatuporn Promphan told the Bangkok Post that Gen Prayut appears supportive of Phra Buddha Isara.
"What the prime minister says is not constructive," Mr Jatuporn said, insisting, by law, the SSC must nominate the most senior somdet phra racha khana to become the supreme patriarch, unless that senior monk is ill.
He said Gen Prayut must act only as a messenger and refrain from leading on the issue, adding: "If he does so, he should be concerned about a major fight that will be bigger than the problems over rubber [protests] and Rajabhakti Park combined.
He said Phra Dhammachayo has never been convicted of any charge and it is unreasonable that Somdet Chuang has to take any responsibility if the abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya is accused of any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the SSC held a meeting Monday, though the deputy spokesman of the National Office of Buddhism, Pradab Pothikanchavat, later told the media that the gathering did not include the nomination of the new supreme patriarch on its agenda.
Mr Pradab, however, conceded the SSC held a special meeting on Jan 5.
The meeting, which Mr Pradab refused to discuss, increased speculation that the body may already have resolved to nominate Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn as the new supreme patriarch.