Government says be patient, wonders not possible in '15 days'

Considering everyone is expecting that "acche din aane wale hain," the government, burdened by the high expectations, has appealed for time to walk the talk.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first address in the Parliament was dubbed as rhetoric by the Congress, the government came to his defence asking the Opposition to be patient.

"You can't expect wonders in 15 days... I was sad to hear reactions of some Opposition members... We waited patiently for 10 years. In 10 days, don't become so restless," parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said at a press conference here on Thursday.

Naidu said the Prime Minister had sent a message that he was ready to take everyone along and not go by numbers. "The Prime Minister's approach was making states due partners in the new India, as part of cooperative federalism," he said.

Keeping in mind Modi's call for change in work culture and attitude, Naidu, who also holds charge of urban affairs, asked his ministry officials to report for work "one minute before nine".

Naidu made a surprise visit to the ministry recently and went to rooms of several officers and staff. "I did not find several of them at their seats.... I told them there has to be punctuality and a clean environment," he said.

He said the government would look at all the 60 bills pending in Rajya Sabha and decide on which ones to prioritise. In Lok Sabha, all the bills lapse with dissolution of the House.

Answering questions, Naidu said the election for the post of deputy speaker will be held during the budget session, in the second week of July. However, he was evasive on queries about a leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha saying it was in the Speaker's domain.