Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 15 : Kerala entered a new political chapter on Saturday as Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan took the Independence Day salute at the Central Stadium here, becoming the first Chief Minister in a decade other than Pinarayi Vijayan to preside over the state's main August 15 celebrations.

Satheesan, who assumed office after the Congress-led UDF's victory in the April Assembly elections ended Vijayan's long tenure, hoisted the Tricolour to the strains of the National Anthem and reviewed the ceremonial parade.

The ceremony, however, had a striking omission -- Vande Mataram was not sung at the state-level function. The song was also absent from government-organised Independence Day programmes and school functions across the state.

The contrast was particularly pronounced barely a stoneâ??s throw away from the Central Stadium. At the BJP-ruled Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Vande Mataram was sung as part of the Independence Day celebrations, highlighting the different political tones of the two ceremonies unfolding almost simultaneously in the state capital.

A similar contrast emerged in Kozhikode. While Congress-led UDF councillors participated in the singing of the National Anthem, BJP members sang Vande Mataram, providing another unusual Independence Day tableau in a state where the political contest between the two fronts and the BJP has increasingly sharpened.

At the Central Stadium, Satheesanâ??s first Independence Day address as Chief Minister was more than a ceremonial speech. It was an assertion of the political and constitutional values that the new government says will guide Kerala.

Beginning with a tribute to those who lost their lives in the recent disaster, Satheesan announced that his government would implement a scientific system to address and prevent floods, promising that the government would support the victims' families.

Calling for Kerala to move forward by abandoning caste, religious and gender discrimination, political blindness and hatred, Satheesan said welfare measures were not charity but a right in a democratic system.

He invoked Jawaharlal Nehruâ??s famous Independence Day message of 1947, particularly the pledge that the countryâ??s work could not end as long as people continued to suffer. Satheesan linked that message to Keralaâ??s continuing challenges, unemployment, poverty, disease, the agrarian crisis, the problems confronting workers and coastal communities, and the difficulties faced by marginalised sections.

In an apparent reference to the recent controversy involving Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Satheesan warned against the return of caste prejudice and untouchability, saying even a senior national leader who had held constitutional positions had been humiliated on caste grounds.

He also placed considerable emphasis on the younger generation, saying Keralaâ??s youth were politically aware, capable of recognising what was happening around them and strong enough to become a corrective force for the country.

Across the remaining 13 district headquarters, Satheesanâ??s Cabinet colleagues took the salute at Independence Day parades, marking the first state-wide celebrations under the new UDF government.

/IANS