Rush Hour: 84% of funds donated during polls went to BJP, 223 Air India victims identified & more

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The BJP accounted for nearly 45% of all expenditure by political parties and over 84% of all funds received by parties during last year's election period from March to June, according to a non-governmental organisation. The Hindutva party spent Rs 1,493.91 crore and collected funds to the tune of Rs 6,268 crore during this period, said the Association for Democratic Reforms.
Among the 32 political parties that the report analysed, the Congress had the second-highest expenses at Rs 620.14 crore, or 18.5% of the total expenditure. The Congress collected Rs 592.48 crore during the election period, which amounted to 7.96% of the total amount, the report said. The BJP spent Rs 983.92 crore on publicity, while the Congress spent Rs 502.97 crore. This included media advertisements, publicity material and public meetings.
In total, political parties spent Rs 3,352.81 crore during last year's Lok Sabha election and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim that were held along with it. Read on.
The Election Commission has reduced the period it will retain video footage and photographs of the polling process to 45 days, citing 'recent misuse' of such material by non-contestants. On May 30, the poll body told state chief electoral officers that recording of polling was not mandated by law but was used as an 'internal management tool'.
In 2024, the Election Commission issued instructions laying out timelines, ranging from three months to a year, for storing video footage from stages of the election process. Read on.
Eight days after the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, the identities of 223 persons who died have been confirmed through DNA testing. Of the total, the bodies of 204 persons have been handed over to their families.
Meanwhile, India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is yet to decide whether flight data and cockpit voice recorders from the aircraft that crashed will be sent overseas for analysis.
The crash on June 12 killed all but one of the 242 people onboard Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Thirty-four persons were also killed on the ground after the plane crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College and Hospital. Read on.
Several Opposition leaders have criticised Union Home Minister Amit Shah for saying those who speak English in India will soon feel ashamed. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that English is 'not a barrier, but a bridge', adding that the language provides employment and boosts people's self-confidence.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi told Shah that 'the only thing to be ashamed of is imposing your will on the people and trying to destroy the pluralism of India'.