New Delh], July 20: Taking a stand against the Opposition's no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rakesh Singh said that Congress party had "emotionally exploited" the people of India under its regime.

"Congress has emotionally exploited the people of this country. There has been a change in the lives of people under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress divided people on the basis of vote bank during their regime. NDA government has risen above religion and caste. BJP has given a clean and strong government to the country," Rakesh Singh said.

Singh said people are still "wondering why this no-confidence motion" has been proposed against the Centre. "For BJP, democracy does not only mean our party's democracy. Ruling party should get the freedom to work in their own way. We do not intend to obstruct the development process. We opposed Emergency. Many families were destroyed, many were jailed but we learned a lot from the incident. That is why we can say that we are now more motivated for country's benefit," he said.

Rakesh Singh later criticised Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Jayadev Galla over his offensive remark for Prime Minister Modi. "You are already cursed as you are standing beside Congress. No other party is acceptable to Congress except for one family," Singh said.

"This motion is not being understood by people. It is an unsuccessful attempt to stop BJP to form a government in 2019. We cannot sacrifice country's future for the sake of one state," Singh said.

Before Rakesh Singh, TDP leader Jayadev Galla gave a speech in the lower house of Parliament to start proceedings on the no-confidence motion. "Prime Minister Modi while campaigning in Andhra Pradesh had said 'Congress killed the mother and saved the child. Had I have been there, I would have saved the mother too'. People of Andhra have waited for four long years for him to save their mother," Galla said.

"The saga of Andhra Pradesh during this Prime Minister Modi-Amit Shah regime is a saga of empty promises," he added. The Narendra Modi-led Government is facing its first no-confidence motion, four years after winning the 2014 mandate as the first single-party majority in three decades.

The NDA last faced the no-confidence motion under the leadership of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003. The Vajpayee-led Government had defeated the motion with an overwhelming majority.

To defeat the no-confidence motion, the BJP would require to gain a mark of 268 votes. The NDA at present counts 312 members in the 535-member Lok Sabha, including 274 of the BJP.