Vijay reveals TVK’s poll promises for women -- Rs 2,500 per month, six free LPG cylinders, zero tolerance for crimes against them, and more

CHENNAI: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Saturday unveiled a set of election promises at the party’s Women’s Day event in Chennai, including Rs 2,500 monthly cash assistance for women heads of families, gold and a silk sari for marriage, a gold ring for newborn girls, six free LPG cylinders a year and free travel for women in all govt buses in Tamil Nadu.Vijay said the party would provide Rs 2,500 every month to women heads of families below 60 years, excluding families of state and central government employees. He also announced six LPG cylinders free of cost every year for each family. He announced the “Annan Seer” marriage assistance scheme under which the govt would provide eight grams of gold and a silk sari for women’s marriages.Vijay said Rs 15,000 a year would be provided as financial assistance to prevent school dropouts (Class IX to XII ) under the ‘Kamarajar Education Assurance scheme.’

He said women would be allowed to travel free in all government buses across Tamil Nadu."Next, we promise zero tolerance for crimes against women. Our dream is to create a situation where crimes against women do not occur at all," he said. Vijay said 500 ‘Rani Velu Nachiyar’ teams equipped with body cameras would be formed for crime prevention. Panic buttons would be installed in all public transport vehicles including share-autos and linked to control centres, while CCTV surveillance and lighting would be expanded to remove dark spots.

He also promised ‘Anjali Ammal’ fast-track courts for exclusive trial of cases involving crimes against women.Under the ‘Singa Pengal development scheme’, women self-help groups would get interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh to run MSMEs, he said. Free sanitary pads would also be distributed through ration shops and educational institutions. He announced the ‘Thaai Maaman’ scheme under which every baby girl born in Tamil Nadu would receive a gold ring along with a welcome kit containing essential items for newborn care.Clarifying how the schemes would be funded despite the state’s rising debt, Vijay said the problem was corruption rather than lack of money. He described this as “30% Stalin tax,” referring to alleged diversion of public funds. "If we remove such corruption, everything will run properly."Regarding the controversy around his personal issues, Vijay said, “I see many of you getting hurt while fighting for it. I get hurt when I see that. I will deal with it. Let us together focus only on the people’s problems. Don’t feel discouraged as it is not worth it.”