Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched the Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra about a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, telling the RSS-BJP that exploiting the symbolism of the Tricolour meant nothing without adherence to the values behind it.

“Everybody salutes the Tricolour. But merely saluting it is not enough. It is important to defend the ideals and values behind the flag,” Rahul told a rally at Kanyakumari, site of the confluence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.

He had earlier attended an all-religion prayer at Sriperumbudur, where an assassin had shed his father Rajiv Gandhi’s blood 31 years ago, and visited the Vivekananda Memorial in Kanyakumari.

Rahul suggested that the Modi government’s disregard of constitutional principles, and its replication of the colonial policy of divide and rule, rendered its hyperbole on the Tricolour meaningless.

“Some people see the national flag as three colours and a piece of cloth. The flag wasn’t a gift — Indians earned it after great struggle and sacrifice,” the Congress MP said.

“This flag represents every single person who lives in India; it represents every religion that people follow and every language they speak.”

Amid loud applause, he declared: “The national flag doesn’t belong to a single state, a single religion, a single language. It belongs to everyone. Embedded in the flag is our identity, not only as nation but as individuals.

“The flag guarantees protection to every person living in this country; it guarantees every Indian a free and fair life, and a right to practise any religion they have faith in.”

Rahul Gandhi pays homage at the memorial to his father Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday ahead of the launch of the 3,570km Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. PTI

Rahul appeared to be harnessing the emotive power of the flag to question the BJP’s version of nationalism, which he believes is at odds with the idea of India that derives from the Constitution.

The BJP’s majoritarianism and emphasis on Hindu culture is widely seen as antithetical to the pluralist and secular ethos of the Constitution that the Congress professes to uphold.

However, large sections of India’s population now appear persuaded that the right to equality guaranteed by the Constitution is not just flawed but undesirable in Hindu-majority India.

Rahul sought to address these concerns. “Today, this flag is under attack,” he said.

“India is not the imposition of one idea upon its people. India is a history of the language and culture of every person who lives here; India is the institutions that protect this flag; India is the media and the judiciary that protect the values this flag represents. But the BJP thinks the flag is its personal property and that it can determine the future of the states and the people.”

Rahul also invoked his favourite charges of crony capitalism and the Centre’s use of investigative agencies to bully its opponents.

“The RSS-BJP think they can frighten the Opposition using the CBI-ED and income-tax (authorities). India is faced with the worst economic crisis and unemployment, and is heading towards a disaster,” he said.

“A handful of large businesses control everything including the media, allowing the Prime Minister to carry out policies in their interest. The idea behind the Bharat Jodo Yatra is that India remains united and strong.”

The crowd enthusiastically cheered Rahul, singing and dancing during his speech. The 118 young party colleagues, including 28 women, who will accompany him on the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Yatra over the next 150 days appeared raring to go.

A group of civil society activists joined the rally to express solidarity, with an activist from Jharkhand tying a rakhi made of seeds on Rahul’s arm.

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin with Rahul Gandhi in Kanyakumari on Wednesday. PTI

The ailing Sonia Gandhi sent her good wishes, describing the Yatra as a transformational moment for Indian politics.

“I will be participating in the Yatra daily in thought and spirit. I will, of course, be seeing the Yatra live as it progresses. Let us move forward united and firm in our resolve,” she wrote.

CPI national council secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam tweeted: “Rahul Gandhi’s padayatra is an initiative in the positive direction. Through this, will the Congress come out of its internal squabbles? Will this be the beginning of a new soul-search that helps them to come out from the clutches of neo-liberal ideology? Will they rediscover Nehru?”

After Wednesday’s launch, the Yatra begins at 7am on Thursday. The 118 participants, chosen from different states, brimmed with confidence, dismissing any mention of hardships or security threats. A strong back-up team is working on the logistics.