Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday urged governments to make only those promises that could be fulfilled, saying citizens would beat up politicians who made them dream but failed to fulfil them, ANI reported.

“People like leaders who make them dream, but if those dreams are not fulfilled, the citizens also beat up leaders,” said the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. “So, you should show only those dreams that you are capable of fulfilling.”

Gadkari said he was not one of those leaders who simply made people dream. “Whatever promise I make is 100% fulfilled,” he added, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Gadkari was embroiled in a controversy last year when he was seen claiming in a video that the BJP had made “tall promises” before coming to power. “We were very confident that we can never come to power. So our people suggested us, just to make tall promises,” he had said. “If we come to power, we won’t be responsible anyway! Now the problem is that people have voted us to power. Now people remind us of our promises along with dates. Nowadays we just laugh and move on.”

Gadkari had later denied making any such remarks. He had questioned the translation where it first appeared in an English newspaper and described it as “baseless”. The video was taken from a comedy television show that had aired in Marathi.