Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday said that when Bangladesh Nationalist Party tried to foil the national election with the help of another country, India stood beside Bangladesh and it behaved like a good neighbour.

‘I think the wall of confusion and mistrust has finally been smashed by prime minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. There is no reason for our relations with India to be strained,’ he said.

Quader, also the road transport and bridges minister, said these while talking to reporters after a meeting with Indian high commissioner Pranay Kumar Verma at the secretariat.

Acknowledging the hike in prices of commodities, Quader said that bringing the high prices of commodities under control was a challenge for the government.

‘Prices of commodities are on the rise, it is reality and there is no way to deny it. Bringing the prices of essentials within people’s purchase capacity is a big challenge,’ he said.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina gave directives on the issue (price hike) in the maiden meeting of the cabinet and they had started working to control it, the minister said.

Responding to a question, the AL leader said that the new government had to face if any obstacle came and they would face BNP for protecting lives and property of people if the party committed violence in the name of political programmes.

Regarding BNP leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy’s remark that the government wouldn’t be able to end its full tenure, Quader said, ‘We have the honest courage to overcome challenges. We did it, and we will be able to do it in the future. We will fulfill the responsibilities we have taken under the leadership of prime minister Sheikh Hasina.’