FM on the death of an EY employee – ThePrint –

New Delhi, Sept 23 (PTI) – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who came under fire for her comments on the death of a young EY chartered accountant allegedly due to work pressure, on Monday clarified that she had not in any way shamed the victim and that her comments were not intended to do so.

Her remarks on Saturday that working people need to have inner strength to cope with work pressure and that this can be achieved through divinity had drawn widespread criticism on social media as well as from opposition parties.

The Union Ministry of Labour has already promised a thorough investigation into the allegations that an exploitative working environment prevails in connection with the tragic death.

“I specifically mentioned that the stress was unbearable for her after passing such a demanding and rigorous exam like the CA. No names were mentioned, either by the lady or the company. The university has set up a meditation room and a place of worship for all its students and faculty. In this context, I spoke about the importance of building the inner strength of the students,” she said.

Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old Chartered Accountant (CA) working at EY Pune, died just four months after joining the global accounting firm, reportedly due to work pressure.

Sitharaman's reply took aim at the post of MP Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena UBT), claiming that it was the toxic work culture and long working hours that cost her life and that needed to be addressed.

Congress General Secretary (Organization) KC Venugopal also sharply attacked Sitharaman.

“The ruling regime and the finance minister can only see the suffering of the corporate giants like Adani and Ambani, not the suffering of the hard-working and toiling young generation, where young professionals like Anna are exploited by the greedy corporate system, if they even manage to get a job in this era of historic unemployment,” Venugopal had said in a post on X.

At an event at a private medical college on Saturday, Sitharaman mentioned the death of the 26-year-old woman, but did not name the victim or the company.

“…we have been discussing an issue that has been in the newspapers for two days. Our children are going to colleges and universities and are doing well. A company, without mentioning the name, is a partnership. There, a woman who had studied CA well could not cope with the pressure of work. Two or three days ago, we got the news – she died because she could not cope with the pressure,” Sitharaman had said.

Even though educational institutions impart good education and ensure jobs to students through campus recruitment, they should also teach certain things that are taught in the family along with education, she had said.

The ruling CPI(M) and Congress in Kerala on Monday attacked the finance minister for her statement and demanded her apology. PTI DP TRB

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