From the Urdu Press: ‘Kejriwal arrest betrays BJP fears, he pays price for AAP-Cong tie-up’, ‘South remains uphill for BJP’

The Urdu dailies have framed it as a chronicle of an arrest foretold. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls has continued to dominate their front pages and commentary sections. The development has come as a twist in the tale of the grand face-off, with the dailies reading in it the ruling party’s “vendetta and insecurities”. Noting that Kejriwal’s arrest has galvanised a divided Opposition INDIA bloc and provided them a compelling narrative, they also wondered whether it would mark the tipping point in their battle against the BJP.

Commenting on Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED in an alleged money laundering case related to the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy, the multi-edition Roznama Rashtriya Sahara, in its March 23 editorial, writes that it marked the BJP’s continued targeting of prominent Opposition leaders who stand up against its “oppressive politics”. “Kejriwal had been in the crosshairs of the BJP-ruled Centre in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. This was reflected in the ED’s repeated moves to issue summons to Kejriwal, which he ignored,” it says.

The editorial notes that while seeking Kejriwal’s remand, the ED told the court that the CM was a “key conspirator” in the alleged scam involving kickbacks from the South Group, to help them in the excise policy and fund the AAP’s 2022 Goa Assembly campaign.

With the AAP camp saying that despite Kejriwal being sent to jail, he will continue to remain the CM, the daily states: “What will be the legal status of the Kejriwal government now, who will run it, or whether the Centre will take the reins of Delhi in its hands?”

However, the daily adds, “the most serious issue that