New Delhi, Nov 25  Prime Minister Narendra Modi while hiting out at the criticism over demonetisation, said on Friday the opposition was charged up not because the government was not prepared for its implementation but because it did not get time to prepare itself.

"A lot of people are criticising demonetisation in parliament. But most of the criticism is that the government was not prepared to implement the decision," Modi said during the Constitution Day celebration function at the Parliament House Annexe.

"But that is not the real reason behind their criticism. They are hurt because the government didn't give them enough time to prepare for it."

"Even if they had got 72 hours to prepare themselves, they would have commended the move," the Prime Minister said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan was also present at the function, where two books on the constitution -- "Making of the Indian Constitution" and an updated version of the Indian Constitution -- were released.