A verbal duel erupted between security men and media persons at the prime minister's residence in New Delhi on Wednesday after the Special Protection Group stopped journalists from entering the outer gate.
The media persons had gathered at the prime minister's residence to cover a meeting that Dr Singh had convened to discuss the nuclear issue with top scientists. Members of the visual media had put up their camera stands at the exit point to get bytes from those who attended the meeting when they would leave.
Trouble began when the SPG told media persons that they will not be permitted to go up to the media stand.
The journalists resented this, insisting that they were always permitted to go up to the media stand. Soon, scores of SPG personnel gathered at the entrance and the Delhi Police had to be called in.
Meanwhile, the SPG personnel quickly changed tack and allowed those attending the meeting to use the entry gate for their exit.
The meeting was attended by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar, R Chidambaram, principal scientific adviser to the Prime Minister, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan, prime minister's Principal Secretary T K A Nair and Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran.