Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday once again stressed the need to have "One Nation, One Election" in India to save time and money of the country.

Reiterating his idea for simultaneous elections across the country, instead of frequent state and local elections as held now, Modi said that "One Nation, One Election" is not a matter of debate only, but this is the need for India.

Modi pitched the idea while addressing the concluding session of the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference via video conferencing in Gujarat's Kevadia on the occasion of the celebrations of Constitution Day. Modi suggested that a single voter list should be prepared for the Lok Sabha, assembly and panchayat polls, saying that separate lists are a waste of resources.

"Only one voter list should be used for Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and other elections. Why're we wasting time and money on these lists?" Modi said.

"One Nation, One Election' isn't just an issue of deliberation, but also need of the country. It hampers the developmental work and all of you know about it. We must think about it seriously and office-holders can lead deliberations on this."

Modi has been committed to the idea of "One Nation, One Election" since he first became Prime Minister in 2014.

As per the Prime Minister, "One Nation, One Election" would reduce the cost of holding elections, and limit all elections to a single season as elections happen somewhere or the other almost all the time at present.

It is often argued that the Model Code of Conduct gets in the way of the government announcing projects or policy plans for the benefit of the people.

In 2003, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had taken up the matter with Congress President Sonia Gandhi who was receptive to begin with, but the idea could not be ultimately pursued.

(IANS)