Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay Visits Erode, Announces Bank-Linked Credit for Women's Self-Help Groups

ERODE: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay visited Erode on Tuesday for the first time since assuming power. During his visit, he provided bank-linked credit worth `1,100 crore to women’s self-help groups and took part in roadshows with TVK candidate S Jayakumar in Perundurai constituency, which is headed for a bypoll. Vijay arrived in Coimbatore by flight and travelled by road to Perundurai, where he distributed benefits under welfare schemes launched by the rural development and panchayat raj department. He inaugurated a `3,000 crore bank-linked credit scheme for 26,000 women self-help groups (SHGs) across the state to support their entrepreneurial ventures. He also released bank-linked credit worth `1,100 crore to 9,000 SHGs from various districts. Vijay instructed officials to ensure that the bank loan assistance is made available to SHGs across the state within a day or two, sources said. A memento was presented to Vijay on behalf of ministers KA Sengottaiyan and M Vijay Balaji during the event. The memento featured a portrait of AIADMK founder MGR handing a sceptre (sengol) to Vijay. This raised eyebrows among many who attended the event, since many TVK ministers have been claiming that AIADMK and TVK are not different parties in the public sphere.