By-election defeat no reflection on govt, Congress: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today rejected claims that the Congress' defeat in the Hisar Lok Sabha by-election is a referendum on his government's performance or the party.

"One by-election in a particular part of the country cannot be considered a referendum on the performance of my government or the Congress party," he told reporters here.

He was replying to a question by a reporter who said some people were saying that the defeat in Hisar was a referendum against his government and party.

Opposition parties have called yesterday's by-election rout of the Congress as a vote against the government in the context of various scams and even a referendum against the government on corruption.