BANGALORE: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Thursday said he is committed to government programmes that will make expensive professional courses, such as engineering and medicine, affordable to students who, today, can only dream about paying the high fees.

Mr. Kumaraswamy, who was felicitated at his Alma Mater, National College in Jayanagar here, on his becoming the Chief Minister, shared many thoughts and some anecdotes with the students, his teachers and fellow old students.

Although he had been an indifferent student and now he describes himself as a "reluctant politician" who was pushed to defy his father, the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Mr. Kumaraswamy said he has seen too many promising students whose dreams died unfulfilled because their parents could not afford the high fees.

It is common knowledge now that Mr. Kumaraswamy has been giving away his entire salary, earned as the MLA for Ramanagaram, to many young men and women who have been left destitute by circumstance. The story of his being moved by the plight of a young widow with two children and no livelihood and giving her money to establish herself in a small business is part of media folklore now. Mr. Kumaraswamy displayed his "socialist" leanings by taking mild pot-shots at the information technology and biotechnology sectors and those who swear by it. "It is nice that these sectors have raised the income levels of three or four per cent of the employed and revenues have risen dramatically. But what about the rest? When and how will the ordinary person's dreams come true? And think of the financial burden that the system takes to sustain the two glamorous sectors," he said.Everyone asks me to find a way to end corruption, but how can I do it alone, Mr. Kumaraswamy asked. Quoting President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, he spoke of a student who asked the latter the same question. Dr Kalam told the young student to go home and tell his parents to stop condoning corruption. "We are in this together, let us get tackle it together," he said.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said he is still uncomfortable in his new role. Earlier, a student, Ashwin Gowda, had spoken of Mr. Kumaraswamy's decision to defy his father and take a major political decision after emerging from his shadow. "Your father is unhappy, please make it up to him by working to make Karnataka the top State in all sectors; we are all eager to emulate you," she told him. Mr. Kumaraswamy said his own beliefs and convictions had led him to take this extreme step, and he had not wanted to hold any office for at least ten years. But the recent developments in politics made it inevitable.

His only concession to the "mandatory" politician's uniform, he said, will be a white shirt, because he hates to think of many white-clad politicians who have maligned this symbol of the Indian freedom struggle and have abused it with their shameful actions and attitude.

He told the students he would like to be their "anna" (big brother), and he is proud to belong to this family.

He urged them to never let anything dishearten them. "Face up to challenges, find yourself an aim and seek it with ambition. Don't betray your parents' hopes for you with thoughts of suicide just because you did not do well. But try again," he said. That is my message to all young people, he added.

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