Urdu press hails govt, says it trumped BJP

Several Urdu broadsheets published editorials on Afzal Guru's execution, which the Rashtriya Sahara described as "sudden". The focus was on how the Congress trumped the BJP, having taken "the wind out of the sails of the Opposition camp". The newspaper mentioned Gujarat Chief Minister and how the "BJP had decided to use the EU ending its boycott of Narendra Modi as a major propaganda tool. Modi and his party would have led the day, but for Afzal Guru's execution becoming the breaking news".

There was no celebration, but a sense of relief that the BJP and Modi have been stumped for the moment.

Multi-edition Inquilab's editorial, a signed take by Shakeel Shamsie, said "every Indian is happy that the person who took part in the attack on Parliament was eventually hanged". The writer said, "A big tool in the BJP's kitty to attack the Centre has disappeared." The paper said the "Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab is turning violent terrorists into heroes," and "the (Central) government played by the book, transparently went down the road. This is what took so long to ensure that he was hanged. This delay is what prompted the BJP to constantly hurl barbs. But this delay is what precisely kept the credibility of the Indian judiciary intact".

Sahafat, published from Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and Dehradun, said, "BJP ke mooh se Congress ne chheen li haddi" (Congress snatched the bone from BJP). Significantly, it mentioned the CPI(ML) statement that termed Afzal's execution as the execution of justice.

Hyderabad-based Siasat focussed on the Congress scoring over the BJP ("baazi maari"). The power of "due process" and delay — contrary to the Hindi and English press — was seen as an application of mind and seriousness on the part of the government in the Urdu press.

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