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.
The CM held road shows and met crowds gathered along the route at several locations, including Chengappalli and Palla Goundan palayam in Tiruppur; Vijayamangalam toll plaza, SIPCOT roundabout, and Anna statue in Perundurai, in Erode.
At Perundurai, he took part in roadshows with S Jayakumar, who won from the constituency as an AIADMK candidate and then resigned as MLA to join TVK. He is expected to contest in the upcoming bypoll.
No media access
Journalists and media personnel were not permitted to enter the venue and directly cover the government event attended by the CM in Perundurai. They were denied permission to take photos, shoot videos and gather news inside the auditorium. Instead, arrangements were made for journalists to watch the event live-streamed on a screen at the parking area outside the venue.
Black-flag threat: AIADMK leader detained for 10 hrs
AIADMK IT wing’s regional joint secretary Durai Senathipathi, who had reportedly announced that he would hoist a black flag atop his house located along the NH and release black balloons during the CM’s visit to Perundurai, was taken into custody by Uthukuli police as a preventive measure. He was detained at the Kunnathur police station on Tuesday and released after nearly 10 hours.
