BANGKOK, March. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has stretched an olive branch towards the feuding People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) as well as the opposition political parties by offering a closed-door talks with them in hopes of defusing the swelling political crisis.

    The offer was made after the April 2 snap poll failed to appease Thaksin's opponents and critics who clamored nothing can stop their protests unless the embattled prime minister steps down from the office with no condition.

    The invitation was also ahead of the next anti-Thaksin mass rally planned for Monday on the heel of a series of others broke out at Sanam Luang of the capital since Feb. 4.

    In a televised interview on Channel 9 Friday night, Thaksin hinted he was willing to debate one-on-one with the opposition political parties and the PAD, a coalition made up of 27 groups who staged weekly demonstrations against him.

    However, during an election campaign in Nakhon Pathom province Saturday, the prime minister said he would opt for a closed door meeting, an abrupt turn from his earlier position.

    "Three of us can sit down and talk (without the use of the media), a representative from Sanam Luang and a representative from the parties that aren't contesting the elections," he said.

    Suranand Vejjajiva, an executive committee member of his Thai Rak Thai Party, later explained a debate style is too confrontational in current situation, and said they believed a closed-door session with its results publicized afterwards would result in fruitful discussion.

    Two agencies, the Thai election watchdog, People's Network for Elections (P-Net) and the Council of University Presidents of Thailand (CUPT), by far have taken the initiative to broker the talks. P-Net set March 24 as a preliminary date for the talks.

    However, Thaksin's critics have insisted that the meeting should be televised to ensure openness and transparency. PAD leader Suriyasai Katasila urged the government to make a clear stand, saying talking in private only dishonest people's thinking.

    The alliance also laid out three conditions for the talk, including the forum must be open to the public, each side must be allocated equal time to speak, and the forum must be broadcast and organized by a non-partisan group.

    The country's anti-Thaksin movement flared up when his family sold their 50-percent stake in Shin Corp, the telecoms giant he founded before entering politics, to a Singapore investment company in January.

    The 1.9 billion U.S. dollars tax-free deal sparks allegations of wrongdoing and abuse of power by the critics and became the focal point for an escalating political confrontation which have been brewing among portions of the middle class people in Bangkok.

    The Constitutional Court last month turned down the investigation appeal of 27 senators on the issue, and regulators found only minor violations of disclosure laws by Thaksin's son, who has been fined six million baht (153,000 U.S. dollars).

    The tension further heightened on Thursday when a home-made bomb exploded in front of Privy Council chairman Prem Tinsulanonda's residence, causing minor injuries to two foreigners.

    The premier, at that time was on a trip to Chanthauri, accused the perpetrators of trying to build up tension amid political crisis. Conflicting theories about the motivation behind the incidents thus fueled widespread speculation.

    Despite the weekly street protests and mounting calls for him to resign, Thaksin seems to believe he was widely backed by the country's mass, especially those grass-root citizens who has yielded support by staging a large scale rally in the capital earlier this month.

    He has been campaigning all over the country for the April 2 polls, a move enabled him to less disturbed by the demonstrators in Bangkok who took him as the sole enemy to confront.

    "I will not betray people who supported me and it's not democracy if a leader quits just because certain people or group's opposition," said Thaksin.

    A self-made telecom tycoon, Thaksin was re-elected to a second term in a landslide election last year when his party won 377 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. His party is favored in rural constituencies which have benefited from his populist policies.

    Still, many of his opponents would only be pleased to see a royally appointed prime minister and a new Cabinet to replace the Thai Rak Thai government in the strife which appeared to be widening and already sparked rifts among the country's once cheerful and carefree citizens. Enditem