Mangalore: The MLA of Mangalore North constituency Dr Y. Bharath Shetty has said that it was his exposure to poverty and poor people from close quarters that led him to choose politics. He was interacting with listeners during a live phone in porgramme here on Thursday, February 10.

Dr Shetty said: “Though I was born in a middle-class family, I have seen poor people and poverty. I thought I could help them by coming into politics. And hence, I chose to be a politician.”

Responding to a question if politics has helped him to achieve his goals, he said that being a politician meant saying no to private life. “You cannot have a private life and you cannot concentrate too much on your private life if you want to be a politician. Being a politician is stressful. If one can take such stress only one can become a politician,” he said.

Voicing out his dreams for his constituency and for Mangalore, especially in the area of creating jobs, Dr Shetty said that there were lots of possibilities. There was a huge opportunity to promote health and spiritual tourism in Mangalore. “There are many engineering colleges in this belt. We are trying to promote skill-based education for youth. A plastic park is coming up in Ganjimath and two three big companies have shown interest to set up their firms here. We hope all this will create jobs,” Dr Shetty added.

Responding to a query about Suratkal toll plaza and the controversy, Dr Shetty said that the firm which has been given contract to collect toll is maintaining the roads in that area. If the state government takes over the maintenance, the toll collection at Suratkal could be stopped. The proposal has been submitted to the state government and a favourable response is awaited, he said.

Earlier, Dr Shetty interacted with Principal of SAC, Dr (Fr) Praveen Martis SJ and Registrar Dr Alwyn D’Sa. Director of Radio Sarang Dr (Fr) Melwyn Pinto SJ was present. Abhishek Shetty coordinated the live programme.