The ostensible reason for Vajpayee's meeting with these leaders was to finalise the agenda for the Parliament's budget session which begins here on Wednesday. But, as a senior Government official put it later, the Prime Minister utilised the opportunity to smother their feelings on the situation arising out of the nuclear explosions.

Before Vajpayee met the Opposition leaders, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Dr R Chidambaram and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre director Kakodkar -- the three seniormost scientists involved in the nuclear tests -- explained to them why India had to go in for the decision. Armed with a projector and slides, the trio sought to answer the queries raised by the Opposition leaders. And to explain the Government's position on the fallout, if any, of thesanctions imposed by some foreign powers in the wake of the nuclear tests were Foreign Secretary K Raghunath and Finance Secretary Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The prime minister met the Opposition leaders in two groups. While the first group comprised former Union ministers Sharad Pawar and Manmohan Singh, who are also Opposition leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha respectively, the second consisted of Somnath Chatterjee CPI (M), Indrajit Gupta (CPI), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP), Laloo Prasad Yadav (Rashtriya Janata Dal), P Chidambaram (TMC) and Murasoli Maran (DMK). The official reason for Vajpayee meeting with these leaders was an attempt to evolve a consensus on three crucial pieces of legislation -- Women's quota bill, Lok Pal bill and the bill granting full statehood to Delhi.

``On the suggestion offered by the two Congress leaders, the prime minister has agreed to hold a joint meeting with leaders of all political parties before finalising the bills,'' Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan LalKhurana told reporters today. He said three bills would be introduced on the first day of the budget session: the legislation regularising the Lotteries (Regulation) Second Ordinance; the Essential Commodities Second Ordinance and the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research Ordinance.