Only a handful of journalists will be able to cover the swearing-in ceremony of Dr Manmohan Singh's government as the Rashtrapati Bhavan has suddenly cut down the number of passes issued for such occasions.

Hundreds of accredited journalists returned disappointed from the Press Information Bureau office this morning when they were told that the President's House had issued only 40 passes. 

"Please come at 2 pm. We are trying to contact Rashtrapati Bhavan for more passes," PIB's Raju Korah told reporters in the morning.

However, the PIB finally distributed the 40 passes -- one each to a news organisation.

Some senior journalists are now contemplating taking up the matter with the Rashtrapati Bhavan.