Comptroller and Auditor-General Vinod Rai, who has won many foes after a number of scams were unearthed by his organisation, on Friday said democracy was at the “crossroads” and it was time for the “silent majority” to speak up.

Hinting that the pro-active nature of the CAG had not gone down well with many, he said the work done by his institution had taken a toll on his friendships.

“Democracy is at the crossroads today and each one of us assembled here needs to contribute to debunk the myth of the silent majority,” Mr. Rai said addressing his Hindu collegemates at a function where he received the ‘Alumnus of the Decade' award.

“The time has come for the majority not to be silent because it is a minority which speaks up on the behalf of the majority,” the CAG added.

Mr. Rai has come under severe attack from various quarters in the government, with some even suggesting that he was overstepping the mandate that the CAG has.

The CAG particularly courted controversy in its assessment of 2G spectrum allocation, with its calculation of Rs 1.76 lakh crore loss being questioned repeatedly.

Mr. Rai said in a lighter vein, “The pace at which I am losing friends, this award better came this year. Next year you may probably not even decide to give this award to me.”

Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy, another Hindu College alumnus, who played a key role as a whistleblower in various scams, including 2G case, was also honoured with ‘Distinguished Alumnus' award along with Congress leader Rao Inderjeet Singh.