Chandigarh: The Punjab assembly witnessed chaotic scenes on Friday as Congress MLAs demanded chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation, stormed the well of the House and staged a walkout. In response, the House moved and unanimously passed a motion suspending Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira for the remainder of the session for allegedly using objectionable language against the Chair.Wearing black scarves, Congress members arrived intent on cornering the governing party. They produced a flex-printed ‘Laanat Patra’ (letter of condemnation), accusing the govt of mishandling sacrilege cases, patronising drug and mining mafias, shielding gangsters, weakening farmers’ movement and failing to protect agricultural incomes amid rising state debt.Trouble began during Question Hour when leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded Mann’s resignation. Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan asked members to reserve their issues for Zero Hour, but Congress legislators entered the well and exchanged slogans with AAP members.Appealing to the opposition, Sandhwan said the questions listed for the session concerned problems faced by the people of Punjab and urged senior Congress MLAs to set an example for first-time legislators.“It is remarkable that questions listed in the Vidhan Sabha to resolve people’s problems are not being allowed to be heard by you. Questions are listed here to find solutions. This means that opposition MLAs, who have been elected four or five times, do not want the problems of the people of Punjab to be resolved,” he said.Independent MLA Rana Inder Pratap Singh, son of Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, also appealed to Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Pargat Singh to allow a discussion on his question regarding the supply of DAP fertiliser to farmers.The Speaker said the opposition appeared more interested in making headlines than discussing farmers’ problems. He urged members to allow the proceedings to continue, stressing that DAP fertiliser was a major concern for farmers and that agriculture was central to Punjab’s economy.Amid the din, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema clashed with Khaira and launched a scathing attack on the Congress, accusing the party of introducing “chitta”, a term commonly used for heroin. Targeting Pargat Singh, Cheema alleged that people in Punjab had first heard the term “chitta” when the newly appointed state Congress president was associated with the Akali Dal. “Today, these people are doing politics. Punjab knows your history,” Cheema said.The minister also accused the Congress of taking false oaths on the Gutka Sahib, misleading people and doing politics over bodies. Congress MLAs subsequently walked out, with some tearing up and throwing papers towards the Chair.Cheema then moved a resolution to suspend Khaira, alleging that he had used derogatory language that insulted labourers, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The motion was passed unanimously by the members present. He also urged the House to pass a separate resolution condemning the Congress over the alleged remarks.Reacting to his suspension on social media, Khaira said he would continue to raise issues concerning Punjab, slain anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota and the death of Dalit labourer Gulzar Dirba. He also defended his language.“I stand by every adjective, such as ‘Bandhua Mazdoor’, used by me to describe the slavery and bondage of AAP Punjab ministers and MLAs,” he said.Pargat Singh defended Khaira, calling the suspension an act of political vendetta. He accused Cheema of making baseless allegations to distract from the AAP govt’s failures, including its alleged non-disclosure of the 1986 Nakodar firing report. He also said the Supreme Court had stayed proceedings in a separate case against Khaira since June 2024.“When confronted over failures and denied justice, the AAP resorts to smears instead of accountability,” Pargat said.