New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Sunday appreciated Bangladesh government's efforts to handle terrorism with an iron hand and said this social menace should be dealt with the way Bangladesh is doing.

The Congress leader made the statement when she met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at South Drawing Room of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

PM's press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting.

He said the Prime Minister reiterated her strong stance against terrorism and informed Sonia Gandhi about various steps taken by her government to curb it.

Sonia, now the opposition leader, said among the political parties in India, there are differences of opinion on various issues. "But, all the parties are very much united regarding the relationship with Bangladesh," she said.

Sonia appreciated the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) and mentioned that the process of this much-awaited deal had been initiated during the congress government.

She also highly praised the socio-economic development of Bangladesh under the able and dynamic leadership of Sheikh Hasina.

Sheikh Hasina described various steps taken by her government for the overall development of the country.

Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury, Sheikh Helal Uddin, MP, Foreign Secretary M Shahidul Haque and AL Presidium member Kazi Zafar Ullah were, among others, present during the meeting from Bangladesh side, while Congress leaders Dr Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi were present from the other side.