While addressing the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference, PM Modi also paid homage to those who died in the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks

One nation, one election is what the nation needs to curb the impact on the development work of the country due to the elections happening every few months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today pitching for the simultaneous Parliamentary, Assembly and Panchayat elections in the country.

Speaking at the concluding session of the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference at Kevadia Gujarat, he said, “Elections are held at different places every few months, the impact it has on development works is known to all. Therefore, it is a must to have deep study and deliberation on ‘One Nation, One Election,’” PM Modi said.

He called for simultaneous elections at every level- Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabhas or local panchayat level by using a common Voter list to enable the elections. Digital innovations in the fields of legislatures should be taken up in real earnest for this, he said.

PM Modi also suggested holding Student Parliaments guided and conducted by the Presiding officers themselves.

During the video session, PM Modi paid his homage to the martyrs of 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks. He remembered victims of the Mumbai terrorist attack which took place on this day in 2008.

Paying his tribute to the to the martyrs of the security forces and said that today India is fighting terrorism in a new way and paid his respect to the security forces. PM Modi said that it is a day to remember the inspiration of Gandhi ji and commitment of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

India is also observing the Constitution Day today. PM Modi said that it is the strength of the Constitution that helps us in the time of difficulties. The resilience of Indian electoral system and reaction to the Corona pandemic has proved this, he said. He praised the Members of Parliament for giving more output in recent times and taking a pay cut for helping in the fight against Corona.

As KYC is known as ‘Know Your Customer,’ he said, KYC can also mean ‘Know Your Constitution’ which can be a big safeguard for the Constitutional safety shield.

He stressed that the language of our laws should be simple and accessible to the common people so that they feel a direct connection with every law. He also said that the process for weeding out the obsolete laws should be simple and suggested that there should be an automatic system of repealing the old laws as we amend them.

Giving an example of the Emergency, he said that in 1970, an attempt was made against the dignity of separation of power but the Constitution ensured that the separation of power is maintained.

After the emergency, the system of Checks and Balances kept getting stronger as Legislature, Executive and Judiciary moved ahead learning from the episode, he said.

This, he said, was possible due to the confidence that the 130 crore Indians have in the three branches of the Government and this confidence has been strengthened with time.

“Our Constitution has many features but one very special feature is the importance given to duties. Mahatma Gandhi was very keen about this. He saw a close link between rights & duties. He felt that once we perform our duties, rights will automatically be safeguarded”, PM Modi said during the occasion.

At last, he cautioned against the tendency of keeping projects pending saying that the Sardar Sarovar was stuck for years and kept the People of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan from the massive benefits which finally accrued when the dam was finally constructed.