EY employee death: Nirmala calls for stress mngmnt lessons, Cong fumes at 'victim-blaming'
Chennai (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for stress management lessons to be imparted by colleges and universities that will help increase the students' inner strength, comments made in apparent reference to the death of a young CA professional employed with EY that came under sharp criticism from opposition Congress which described her remarks "outright cruel."
Anna Sebastian Perayil, who passed her Chartered Accountancy exams in 2023 and worked at EY Pune office for four months, died in July. According to a letter her mother wrote to the EY India Chairman Rjiv Memani, Perayil was overworked with a "backbreaking" load as a new employee that affected her "physically, emotionally, and mentally".
The government too has stepped in to say that it will investigate the work environment at Big Four accounting firm EY.
Addressing an event at a private medical college here on Saturday, Sitharaman referred to the death of the 26- year-old woman, without naming the victim or the company.
"...was discussing about an issue that is on newspapers for the past two days. Our children go to colleges and universities for education and come out in flying colours. A company, without mentioning its name, its a partnership. There, a woman who had studied CA well, unable to cope with the work pressure, two-three days ago we received a news--she died unable to cope up with the pressure," Sitharaman said.
Even if educational institutions impart good education, ensure jobs to students through campus recruitment, they should teach certain things, along with education, that are taught in the family, she said.
"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.
"Believe in God, we need to have God's grace. Seek God, learn good discipline. Your Atma shakthi will grow only from this. The inner strength will come only with growing Atma shakti," the FM added.
"Educational institutions should bring in divinity and spirituality. Then only will our children get the inner strength, it will help in the progress of them and the country. That is my strong belief," the minister added.
Congress general secretary (Organisation), K C Venugopal lashed out at Sitharaman.
"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."
"It is downright cruel on part of the finance minister to blame Anna and her family for suggesting that she should have learnt stress management at home. This kind of victim blaming is despicable and no words can convey the anger and disgust one feels because of such statements," he said in a post on 'X.'
He further asked, how 'heartless' can this government be whether they have lost all sense of empathy.
"The parents are still recovering from this terrible tragedy. The toxic work environment should have triggered an honest review of corporate practices and led to necessary reforms that protect employees," he added.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
