March 17: Must-read stories

Cong mulls ties with regional parties to break Modi, BJP wave in 2019

The Congress on Thursday said it would explore all options, including a grand alliance, to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi and pose a “formidable challenge” to the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Its senior partners in the Bihar ruling coalition—Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)—joined the chorus, reports The Hindustan Times.

Justice Karnan writes to SC judges: Demands ₹14-crore compensation

Less than a week after a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court issued bailable warrant against him for failing to show up in court to respond to a contempt notice, Calcutta High Court Judge CS Karnan on Thursday wrote to the Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice of India, seeking compensation to the tune of ₹14 crore from them. A report by The Indian Express.

National Health Policy drops proposal to make health a fundamental right
The government’s final version of the National Health Policy has made substantial reversals on some of the stands of the Draft National Health Policy, 2015. The new policy no longer proposes that health be considered a fundamental right, reports The Wire.

Deoband will be turned into Deovrind: BJP MLA

The newly elected BJP MLA from Deoband, Brijesh Singh, has said he will ensure that the new state government changes the name of the town to Deovrind. Singh said Deoband should be known for its historical association with Mahabharata and not the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, reports The Hindu.

July 1 date with GST looks set as council clears all bills

The GST Council on Thursday paved the way for rolling out the new tax regime from July, clearing all legislations—the state GST (SGST) and the union territory GST (UTGST) bills—required for one of the most ambitious reform measures since Independence, reports The Times of India.