'Inner Strength Needed to Handle Pressure'; FM on 26-YO CA's Death

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent reaction to the death of Anna Sebastian Perayil has ignited new controversy.

While addressing an event at a private medical college in Chennai the Finance Minister referred to the incident of Anna Sebastian Perayil without naming her or the company and urged youngsters to “Seek God, learn good discipline” to manage work stress. 

“Divinity and spirituality” to handle work pressure

According to the finance minister, the strength to handle pressure can be achieved through divinity. She said that educational institutions should bring “divinity and spirituality” to their curriculum.

She added, “whatever you study and the job you do, you should have the inner strength to handle that pressure and this can be achieved through divinity only.”

On the Saturday event, the Union Minister remarked that stress management lessons should be imparted by colleges and universities to help increase the students' inner strength.

She further mentioned that families should also teach their children to seek the path of spirituality to cope with work pressure. "What should families teach--whatever you study and the job you do, you should have the inner strength to handle that pressure and this can be achieved through divinity only.”

Congress backlashes Sitharaman

Her comment was immediately lashed out by the opposition party. Congress general secretary, K C Venugopal, tweeted in X: “The ruling regime and the finance minister can only see the pain of corporate giants like Adani and Ambani, not the pain of the hardworking and toiling young generation where freshers like Anna are exploited by the greedy corporate system if they even succeed in getting a job in this era of historic joblessness.” 

The sad case of Anna Sebastian Perayil

Anna Sebastian Perayil was a 26-year-old chartered accountant (CA) from Kerala who worked at EY Pune and died of cardiac arrest on June 20 following excessive workload and poor work culture at the company - as alleged by her mother.

In an open letter to Ernst & Young India’s Chairman, Rajiv Memani, her mother detailed her daughter's ongoing issues with anxiety, sleeplessness, and stress due to overworking as her manager prioritized work over employee well-being.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi has spoken with Anna's parents and offered his sympathies, while praising the family’s courage in speaking out during such a difficult time.

Gandhi has also pledged that he would raise the issue in Parliament.

Following this tragic incident, several former employees of EY India, as well as other companies, have criticized the taxing work culture in modern office environments.

The Union labor ministry has taken up the complaint and is investigating the death of the EY employee. Following the uproar, the Centre has assured to investigate the work environment at EY. 

Read also: India's first-ever electric superbike arrives: Ultraviolette F99 (startuppedia.in)