Protect small investors' interest: Cong tells FM

New Delhi, Jan 23 (UNI) A day after Finance Minister P Chidambaram advised investors to stay calm in the wake of stock market crash, the ruling Congress today asked the Government and Mr Chidambaram to take appropriate steps to protect the interest of the investing community, particularly the small investors.

''The tremendous fall in the stock market over the past two days has led to a fallout on the small investors who have sufferred major losses. This has made it necessary for the Government to take appropriate steps,'' Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan told reporters.

The Congress ruled out a JPC probe, as demanded by the Opposition BJP, into the market meltdown, and said it also did not subscribe to the CPM's view that Mr Chidambaram for responsible for the crash.

''We have no doubt that the market will fully recover in the long run as the economy is robust, but the Government should take appropriate steps for proper financial growth in the medium term,'' Mrs Natarajan said.

The stock market witnessed its biggest single-day fall of 1,408 points on Monday, and was 875 points down yesterday after crashing 2029 points in intra-day trading.

UNI YJ PK AS1746