Tharoor was quick to react on his favourite social networking tool Twitter. 'I would be ashamed if I was spending the people's money. But I'm not - I'm spending my own savings,' Tharoor tweeted Tuesday afternoon, in reply to a question.

On a suggestion that Kerala House could be a temporary place for stay, Tharoor said: 'I need 2 things daily that Kerala House doesn't offer - a gym and some privacy. But I visit pretty often and meet people there.'

Incidentally, Tharoor often gets questions on Twitter on whether the government pays for his trips to his constituency, Thiruvananthapuram.

'It is a non-story. I wasn't spending taxpayer's money or using any government privilege.'

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari justified Mukherjee's intervention in the matter, saying the ministers staying at luxury hotels when the government has announced austerity measures does not send the right signal.

Tewari, however, clarified that the government was not paying for the hotel stay of the two ministers. 'There was no question of burdening the public exchequer. They have already clarified it,' he said.

Krishna, a Rajya Sabha member, was earlier allotted the residence of former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh at 19, Teen Murti Lane. However, he found the house in a poor state and ordered it to be renovated.

Tharoor, an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, was initially offered accommodation in Kerala House after the polls, but is said to have refused. He has since been allotted a house in Lodhi Estate, which is undergoing renovation.