Mr Plodprasop made headlines on May 15 when he appeared to refer to members of the Association of Human Rights Lawyers as “rubbish”.
Unrepentant, he said during a speech on Sunday (June 2) that he was referring to their ideas, not them, as rubbish, adding that what he really wanted to call them and others like them was “monitor lizards” – a strong insult in Thai.
He added, “I see no reason to apologise to them. They’ve never said sorry when they were rude about me,” Mr Plodprasop said.
In the same speech – as can been seen on a video that has gone viral among Phuket people – Plodprasop appears to tell Phuketians that if they vote for Pheu Thai candidates, they will get a convention and exhibition centre – a political football for the past decade.
Speaking in the Chiang Mai Gymnasium at a political event called “Pheu Thai for the Future of Thailand”, he said, “I don’t want to do it [the convention centre in Phuket]. Why? Any problem? We will do it in the future when the people of Phuket see the good side of us and elect our man.
“I will do it for you, but right now I don’t feel like it,” he said to cheers from the crowd in the gymnasium, many wearing red shirts and rattling “foot clappers”.
The clip has been shared widely on Facebook, mostly with scathing comments.
One said, “I can’t believe that this is the speech from Deputy PM. Phuket people, do you want to elect Pheu Thai? Then you will get the Convention and Exhibition Centre but it will be a disaster. Do you want that?”
Another commented, “Now development in each province depends on whether we support Pheu Thai or not? Phuket people, watch this. Is this the Deputy PM? Good luck Thailand.”
More than 40 environmental and community groups have called on Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to dismiss Plodprasop.
In a letter to her, they said Mr Plodprasop should no longer serve as deputy premier because of his frequent verbal insults and hostile gestures against people who disagree with him.
“We call on Mr Plodprasop to stop insulting people and request the prime minister to look into your deputy’s behaviour,” they wrote.