The Urban Development Ministry refused to pick up the five-star hotel tab of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, as reported by The Indian Express.

The Minister’s adviser has confirmed that Krishna had to pay a daily tariff of about Rs 20,000 for the Luxury Suite.Raghvendra Shastry, advisor to the minister, told The Indian Express from New York,that Krishna stayed at ITC Maurya’s Luxury Suite “for 48 or 52 days.” and “was charged about Rs 14,000 plus taxes per day which comes to about Rs 20,000 per day.

“The hotel’s website says the tariff for a Luxury Suite is Rs 65,000 plus taxes. When asked who paid the Minister’s bills, Shastry said: “About Rs 14 to 15 lakh has been paid in all for his stay by his son-in-law, V G Siddhartha who is the the founder of the Café Coffee Day chain. The bills were paid every 10-15 days.”

Asked about the discount, Shastry said: “Sidhartha got the discounted rates because of the Executive Travel Value Plan (ETVP) scheme of ITC hotels under which companies or individuals pay Rs 2 lakh as security deposit. His son-in-law availed of this scheme.”Krishna’s stay in the hotel got extended — he is now at the Foreign Service Institute Guest House—- after he rejected two houses before finalizing the house at 1, Tyagraj Marg.