BANGKOK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Cabinet Secretary-General Bovornsak Uwanno on Thursday moved to quell speculations that the government was preparing to declare a state of emergency or a decree to postpone next month's general election.

    Bovornsak was speaking to journalists after a short meeting with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the Government House.

    He also dismissed as rumor suggestions that Thaksin was preparing to take business or sick leave.

    Bovornsak said he had not seen the prime minister for three weeks and had asked for a meeting to allow Thaksin to review a number of cabinet-related documents.

    He said he could not disclose their contents, but insisted that none of the papers was related to a declaration of a state of emergency or the issuing of a royal decree to postpone the general election set for April 2.

    The caretaker prime minister, who has been facing a mass protest campaign for him to quit, returned to his office briefly for the first time in almost two weeks Thursday.

    "The prime minister gave no special instructions, but he did express concern over the nation's problems," Bovornsak was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying. "I also stress that there was no leave form signed by the prime minister at all."

    Cabinet would meet as usual next week, but the cabinet secretary-general said it was uncertain if the prime minister would chair the meeting at the Government House or elsewhere via a video link, as he had done for the last meeting.

    On the issue of whether the April 2 election should be postponed, Bovornsak said the government -- now in caretaker mode -- could not legally initiate any such move.

    He also said that the government had already prepared a way outin case parliament could not convene after the election. "It is a legal technique. There will be discussions among law agencies concerning the parliament's convention," he said. Enditem