Reconciliation, not secret funds our answer to red shirts : PM

"I have checked the mid-year budget allocation and such secret funds do not exist," he said.

Abhisit said he saw no justification to earmark state funds for partisan activities, pointing that his government was committed to forging reconciliation instead of crushing the opposition movement.

The government wanted to remind the red shirts to abide by the law when carrying out its opposition, he said.

He added that he was not worried about the activities of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who he said should return to the homeland to clear his name rather than live in exile.

He said he would focus on tackling the nation's economic woes rather than devote attention to the fate of a fugitive like Thaksin.

He revealed that he had a meeting with Pheu Thai MP Chalerm Yoobamrung on Wednesday to solicit support from the opposition bench to push for political reform.

"I sensed a positive response from the opposition and Chalerm has asked for time to review the details on how to bring about reform of the political system," he said.

The main opposition party has, meanwhile, moved ahead in its preparations to censure the government in March.

Chalerm said the opposition will likely draw up a no-confidence motion within next week. The motion is to target the prime minister and selected Cabinet members for grilling.

The Pheu Thai Party has tentatively scheduled Tuesday for a crucial party meeting to elect a new leader who will be nominated for the position of opposition leader.

Chalerm said he was not ready to lead the opposition although he was a top contender for the post.

Other contenders are opposition chief whip Withaya Buranasiri, House deputy speaker Apiwan Wiriyachai and MP Mingkwan Saengsuwan.

Democrat MP Thepthai Senpong said opposition lawmakers were behind "groundless" speculation about the government's bid to undermine the red-shirt crowd which was designed to win public sympathy.

He said a number of Pheu Thai MPs cited safety reasons as a pretext for cancelling their trip to meet Thaksin in Hong Kong, saying the ex-premier was afraid of having his visa revoked if he used Chinese territory to undermine Thailand.

Regarding the Japanese entry ban on Thaksin, he said opposition MPs should ask Thaksin to travel to Japan in order to test whether such a ban has been imposed.

He quipped that this might be a quicker way to dispel doubts than pressuring the Japanese embassy for an explanation.

Democrat MP Sathit Pitudecha called on the main opposition party to do its job constructively instead of resorting to fractious politics and harbouring individual grudges.