Sometimes, ministers are just like lesser mortals. In the age of VVIPs getting away with pretty much anything, Pramod Madhwaraj, Minister for Fisheries, Youth Empowerment and Sports in Karnataka, ended up paying a fine of Rs 100 after going on a joyride on a motorcycle without a helmet at Karje in Udupi.

The minister was in Kharje near Brahmavar on November 9 to lay the foundation stone for a ceremony held for road development in the taluk. As he had reached the venue early, the minister borrowed a bike from a party worker to go on a short ride. However, as he rode the motorcycle for a few minutes, people on the road clicked photographs and shot videos of the minister, and the clippings soon went viral on social media, reported Deccan Herald

The photographs and clippings were posted on local WhatsApp groups and drew sharp criticism from local citizens. Few photographs and videos even showed police personnel, who were a part of his convoy, looking at the minister riding the two-wheeler without a helmet and taking no action. The incident was slammed by local citizens who called out the police for being partial, as Udupi police have made helmets compulsory for people travelling in two-wheelers in the district.

The minister, left red-faced by the incident, swung into damage control mode and contacted the police to pay a fine of Rs 100 on November 10. Replying to queries during his weekly phone-in programme in Udupi on Saturday, Superintendent of Police Sanjeev M Patil, said that  Madhwaraj suo motu contacted the police and paid the fine on Friday (November 10). “He is a law abiding citizen,” he said in the programme.