Chatuporn warned the Council for National Security (CNS) not to prematurely point fingers at the party, whose administration was ousted by the coup makers on September 19.

"We urge the CNS to speedily find out the facts before any misunderstanding is widely spread," Chatuporn said a few hours after the blasts.

"The bombs can be looked at from different angles and a political cause is just one of them. It could also be seen as a challenge to the CNS and could stem from the spread of the conflict in the three southernmost provinces."

The party's comments came as rumours ran rife that the bombings were a pretext for a coup to oust the CNS and its government.

Coup leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin is in Saudi Arabia for the Haj and is scheduled to return on January 8.

Meanwhile, party spokesman Sita Divari encouraged all political groups to dissuade dissidents from future bombings. The government needs to act to bring the perpetrators swiftly to justice, he said.

He called on the military-backed administration not to jump to conclusions the attacks were politically motivated.

Noppadon Pattama, the personal legal advisor to deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, yesterday denied the former leader had any role in the bombings.

"Politicians are unlikely to be behind this. It must be the work of people with bad intention towards the country."