New Delhi, Sep 18 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday termed as a 'joke' Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor's taunting comments on the auterity drive and sought to defuse the controversy.

At an 'austere' Iftar party he hosted, Manmohan Singh was asked his view on Tharoor's remarks that he would also travel by the 'cattle class' given the party and the government's austerity drive against the backdrop of the price rise and drought.

'It was a joke,' Manmohan Singh told reporters.

The minister ran into trouble for the message he posted on the microblogging site Twitter in which he said sarcastically in response to a query that he would travel 'cattle class out of solidarity with all our holy cows!'.

The prime minister's remarks will come as a relief to Tharoor who has been under attack from his own party members, with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asking for his resignation.