Chandigarh, March 13 -- Noisy scenes were witnessed as the Punjab assembly passed a resolution to refer a breach of privilege matter against Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira to the Privilege Committee of the House for allegedly calling AAP members "bonded labourers". The previous privilege motion moved in the Punjab assembly in 2018 was also against Khaira. At that time, he was the leader of Opposition for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and faced the motion for statements he made regarding illegal mining against Congress MLAs. No action was taken against him by the Speaker then. Later, Khaira joined the Congress in 2021 and now represents the Bholath assembly segment. It was the third consecutive day when the Khaira issue rocked the ongoing budget session of the Punjab assembly. It all started on Tuesday when the assembly passed a resolution condemning Khaira over his alleged "derogatory" comments on women celebrating the "Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhian Satkar Yojana", under which the state government will provide Rs.1,000 per month to eligible beneficiaries. Raising the matter during the Zero Hour of the ongoing budget session, finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused Khaira of making an objectionable remark against AAP MLAs. Presenting the resolution in the House, Cheema said that Khaira, in a social media post on March 10, called AAP legislators, ministers and the speaker "bandhua mazdoor" (bonded labourers), thus "insulting" the public representatives. "Such language undermines the dignity of constitutionally elected representatives and belittles the mandate given by the people. The issue was further aggravated on March 11 when Khaira was given an opportunity on the floor of the House to clarify his statements and issue an apology, but he categorically refused to retract his words," he said. Such conduct amounts to the breach of privilege and the matter should be referred to the Privilege Committee for a detailed investigation, he said. The resolution also strongly condemns the "highly objectionable" physical gestures made by Khaira while exiting the House during an opposition walkout on March 11, said Cheema. The gestures completely lacked parliamentary decorum and these actions were also witnessed by Khaira's fellow Congress MLAs, he said. "One would see these gestures during street fights. I never saw such gestures in my life," said Cheema. Some people use such vocabulary and theatrics to gain social media traction and potentially monetise their viewership, he further said. The Speaker also stressed that the decorum of the House must be maintained. Rebel SAD MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who came out in support of the resolution, slammed Khaira for his remarks against the legislators. He not only insulted public representatives but also the Constitution, said Sukhi. When Sukhi made some comments against the Congress, the party's MLAs led by leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa rose from their seats and raised an objection, demanding the word be expunged. The debate also saw heated exchanges when MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi accused the Congress of discriminating against Dalits and disrespecting BR Ambedkar. Congress members strongly objected to his remarks. When the speaker put the resolution to vote, LoP Bajwa asked him about the condemnation resolution, which his party brought on Wednesday against chief minister Bhagwant Mann for his alleged remarks on women on International Women's Day. The speaker said the resolution was not allowed, following which the Congress MLAs protested against it. Bajwa questioned why a motion against Khaira was permitted while the opposition's demand to move a motion against the CM was not allowed....