DMK MP seeks Mekedatu dam discussion in Rajya Sabha, suspends business

DMK MP Tiruchi Siva has moved to suspend business in the Rajya Sabha to discuss the Mekedatu dam project's impact on Tamil Nadu. The Lok Sabha is also scheduled to take up the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026.

DMK MP seeks urgent Rajya Sabha debate on Mekedatu dam

DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva has submitted a notice under Rule 267 seeking the suspension of the day's business in the Upper House to discuss concerns over the proposed Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir project on the Cauvery River and its impact on Tamil Nadu.

In his notice addressed to the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General, Siva sought the suspension of Rules 15, 23, and 51, along with any other listed business for July 21, to facilitate a discussion on the matter. The notice stated that the discussion was being sought on "the concerns over the proposed Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir on the river Cauvery, its impact on affected state of Tamil Nadu and the need for constitution of a tribunal in this regard." Invoking Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States, the DMK leader requested that the scheduled business of the House be suspended to take up what he described as an issue of urgent importance.

Lok Sabha to take up Supreme Court judges bill

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha is scheduled to take up the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, for consideration and passing on Tuesday during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, a day after Union Minister of Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the Bill in the House.

Meghwal will move the Bill--which seeks to further amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956--for consideration and request that it be passed by the House. The legislative business will be preceded by a statutory resolution moved by TMC MP Saugata Ray, Revolutionary Socialist Party MP NK Premachandran, and Congress MP Dean Kuriakose, disapproving the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026, promulgated by the President on May 16, 2026. The two items are scheduled to be taken up together.

Other Parliamentary Business Scheduled

The Revised List of Business for the day also includes Question Hour, laying of papers, motions relating to parliamentary committees, and matters under Rule 377. The Secretary-General is scheduled to lay on the Table nine Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament during the Seventh Session of the Eighteenth Lok Sabha and assented to by the President.

Several Ministers are also scheduled to lay papers on the Table. These include Jitin Prasada (Ministry of Commerce and Industry), Ram Nath Thakur (Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare), Nityanand Rai (Ministry of Home Affairs), SP Singh Baghel (Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying), BL Verma (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment), and Bandi Sanjay Kumar (Ministry of Home Affairs).

The House will also take up a statement from the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Dina Patil are scheduled to lay the statement on the final action taken by the government on the recommendations and observations contained in Chapters I and V of the committee's Second Report. This report concerns the action taken on recommendations from the Twenty-First Report of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha committee on the subject, 'Smart Cities Mission: An Evaluation'. (ANI)

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