Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly R. Ashoka on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Congress government, alleging that it had failed to curb the alleged female foeticide racket in Yadgir and Kalaburagi, and demanded a High Court judge-led investigation into the matter. 

It can be noted that Kalaburagi is the native district of the state Home Minister, Piyank Kharge

In a statement, Ashoka targeted Yadgir and Kalaburagi districts' in-charge Minister Priyank Kharge, accusing him of focusing on questioning the registration status of RSS while ignoring what he described as a grave humanitarian crisis in the districts under his charge.

Addressing Priyank Kharge, Ashoka alleged that thousands of female foetuses had disappeared in Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts over the past five years and questioned why the minister had not taken action against those allegedly involved in the illegal practice.

He further questioned why the government had failed to investigate the alleged disappearance of 16,116 pregnancies in Yadgir district over the last five years and demanded to know what had happened to the unborn children before their births could be officially registered. He also alleged the existence of a sex determination and female foeticide racket and sought an investigation into those responsible.

Ashoka also criticised Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, referring to his recent visit to the Hyderabad-Karnataka (Kalyana Karnataka) region. He alleged that the Chief Minister had failed to take note of the plight of women and the alleged large-scale female foeticide during the visit, accusing him of being preoccupied with political issues rather than addressing serious social concerns.

Accusing the Congress government of hypocrisy, Ashoka said it spoke about women's empowerment while allegedly allowing female foeticide to continue in the Kalyana Karnataka region.

Demanding immediate action, the Leader of Opposition urged Chief Minister Shivakumar to order an inquiry headed by a sitting or retired High Court judge into the alleged female foeticide racket. He warned that the government would be held accountable if it failed to act decisively against those responsible.

R. Ashoka further criticised the Karnataka government's 'e-Swathu 2.0' initiative, alleging that it had become a source of hardship for property owners instead of protecting their property rights.

Addressing CM Shivakumar, Ashoka said the government's 'e-Swathu 2.0' system had failed to safeguard citizens' property rights and had instead turned into an "e-crisis" that was forcing people to make repeated visits to government offices.

He alleged that lakhs of property owners in gram panchayat areas had been waiting for months to obtain e-Khatas due to persistent technical problems, including server failures, login issues, GPS errors and software glitches, bringing their lives and transactions to a standstill.

"This is not digital governance; it is digital misgovernance," Ashoka said.

According to him, the problems have left property owners unable to sell their properties, obtain bank loans or complete inheritance-related documentation, while forcing them to repeatedly visit government offices to resolve pending applications.

Ashoka further alleged that innocent rural citizens were paying the price for the government's administrative failures.

He urged the state government to immediately rectify the shortcomings in the 'e-Swathu 2.0' system, dispose of all pending applications on a war footing and initiate action against officials and contractors responsible for the alleged lapses.

Taking a swipe at the Congress government, Ashoka questioned how the people of Karnataka could trust an administration to govern the state when, according to him, it was unable to ensure the smooth functioning of its own servers.