Panchkula, May 7 -- The Haryana Congress on Wednesday alleged that there were over 8,500 duplicate voters in the electoral roll released for the Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) elections, scheduled to be held on May 10. The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president Rao Nerendra Singh, while addressing a press conference at the HPCC headquarters in Chandigarh, claimed "duplication of votes" and termed it a "direct attack on democracy". While accusing the BJP of orchestrating a "vote theft conspiracy", Singh alleged that such practices by BJP, earlier seen in other states, are now being repeated in Panchkula. He alleged that the "manipulation" reflects the ruling party's "blind hunger for power" and lack of accountability. Rajya Sabha member and All India Congress Committee general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that a detailed analysis of the electoral rolls revealed that 8,543 voters are listed twice, resulting in 17,086 duplicate entries across 20 MC wards. Surjewala said the findings are based on data from the chief electoral officer, Haryana, and further discrepancies could exist as the verification was conducted within a limited time. Surjewala said a memorandum along with details of the duplicate entries has been submitted to the state election commission and the returning officer. The Congress leaders demanded immediate revision and sanitisation of the voter lists, removal of duplicate entries, and publication of a corrected list. They also called for a time-bound probe into the matter and registration of FIRs against those found responsible. Congress MP Deepender Hooda on Wednesday alleged that the BJP government has done nothing in the MCs other than foster corruption and shield corrupt acts. During his campaign in support of Congress mayoral candidate Kulwinder Kaur and the party's ward candidates in Ambala, he said, "The state government has not even bothered to initiate an inquiry into these scams. The people of Haryana will cast their votes in favour of the Congress," he said....