The Bharat Jodo Yatra on Friday entered the first BJP-ruled state on its route, with Rahul Gandhi telling a gathering that the walkathon was the only means for the Opposition to be heard since the media and Parliament had been muzzled.

“There are a number of institutions in democracy. There is the media and Parliament as well. But all these have been denied to the Opposition, and the media doesn’t listen to us any more,” the Congress leader told party workers in Gundlupet, a town in Karnataka’s Chamrajnagar district that borders Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

“There is total government control. Our mikes are muted in Parliament, and the state Assemblies are not allowed to function (by the BJP). The only option left for us is the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” he added, drawing loud applause from the thousands who had braved the blazing sun to turn up.

Rahul had walked into Karnataka, where Assembly polls are due early next summer, in the morning from Gudalur in Tamil Nadu. The Karnataka leg of the Yatra will traverse 511km in three weeks, passing through seven districts and 22 Assembly constituencies, before entering Telangana via Raichur.

“One of the objectives of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to stand up against the BJP’s ideology of hatred and violence,” Rahul said. “The objective of this march is also to save the Constitution. The Tricolour is meaningless without the Constitution.”

Another objective is to listen to the people of India.

“In the coming 20-odd days, you (Congress workers) will accompany me and hear the pain of the people of Karnataka. You will hear about corruption, price rise and unemployment,” Rahul said.

“We start walking at 6am and continue till the evening. We walk in rain and shine.”

He added: “This is India’s march. This is a march to hear India’s voices. No one can suppress it…. No one can stop this Yatra, which will go from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. No strength can stop this, since this is the voice of India.”

Rahul aimed a jibe at the BJP: “In the Yatra you will not see hatred or violence. No one asks your religion, caste, or what language you speak.”

A veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi followed. Unlike “some”, Rahul said, he never makes long speeches. “I don’t make speeches of two to three hours. Instead, I speak for just 15 minutes.”

Former Congress chief minister P.C. Siddaramaiah, now leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said: “The politics of division and hate has intensified since Narendra Modi came to power, leaving Dalits, minorities and women to live in fear.”

He underlined that some BJP leaders had been openly talking about changing the Constitution: “They believe in one leader, one ideology and one symbol.”

Siddaramaiah alleged that BJP workers had on Thursday “ripped out” 50-odd banners put up in Gundlupet to welcome Rahul.

Eminent Kannada writer Devanoor Mahadeva presented a copy of the Constitution to Rahul on behalf of a group of civil society organisations, signifying their support for the Yatra. Mahadeva has been a critic of Hindutva politics and the Sangh parivar, and of the efforts to “saffronise” school textbooks.

From Chamrajnagar, the Yatra will pass through Mysore, Mandya, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Ballari and Raichur districts. However, from Ballari, the Yatra will first enter Andhra Pradesh, where it will spend four days before re-entering Karnataka via Raichur and eventually moving to Telangana on October 20.