Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said on Sunday that he would strive to provide a “transparent and clean” administration in the State. Replying to felicitations given to him by the Manipal University here, Mr. Gowda said he had become Chief Minister by “accident and not by choice”.
Mr. Gowda said: “The people of Udupi and Chikmagalur districts voted me as MP. But due to the blessings of the people of these two districts, I have risen to the post of Chief Minister.”
He said that his aim was to see that the State topped in development. “If things go on smoothly as they had done in the last 15 days, the administration and governance will go a long way in solving the problems of the people,” he said. He lauded the educational institutions under the Manipal University for providing quality education. Higher Education Minister V.S. Acharya said the amount provided to the education sector by the State government had increased by three times in the last five years.
“Our government is encouraging private public partnership (PPP) in the education sector,” Dr. Acharya said.
Vice-Chancellor K. Ramnarayan, Pro Vice-Chancellor Vinod Bhat, MLA Raghupati Bhat and wife of Mr. Sadananda Gowda, Datty Gowda, were present.