NEW DELHI, July 6: Indian Finance Minister Monmohan Singh denied charges that Indias dollar 1.28 billion ft nancial scandal could have been avoided if he had effectively Imposed government guidelines, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported today, says Reuter.

Singh has been severely criticised by a joint parliamentary committee probing the scandal for his ministry's failure to implement existing regulations.

In its draft report the committee said: The

(Finance) Ministry's failure to ensure adherence to Its own Instructions contributed slgnif icantly to irregularities in securities and banking transactions."

The draft said that if guidelines set by the government were followed, bankers and

broker* could net have *4 phoned off fund* from inter bank dealings to artificially inflate the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Singh told PTI tn an Inter view that the charge* against him by the parliamentary panel were " hardly sustainable

“How could the finance minister prevent them ( irregularities) until somebody brought to hi* notice that such things were happening", PTI quoted Singh as saying.

He said it was at this instruction* that the Reserve Bank finally discovered the fraud.

Singh said that as soon as irregularities came to his no tice he set up a committee under the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank to look into the workings of financial institutions.

PTI adds: The Joint Pas-

liamentary Committee holds a crucial meeting here today and is likely to consider the issue of examining some persons mentioned by big bull Harshad Mehta during his last week's deposition before the

Mehta, during hl* ten hour marathon deposition before the committee on June 30, had mentioned the names of Sunil Mittal and other* tn connection with his alleged pay off to Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao

Ram Niwas Mirdha. Chairman of the Committee probing the securities scam, said tM question of calling more person* for evidence is likely to come up for discussion today

Non Congress 1 members of the JPC say they would insist to examine al) the persons to ascertain the veracity.