EY employee death: FM Sitharaman calls for stress management lessons, Congress fumes at 'victim-blaming'

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged educational institutions to include stress management lessons to strengthen students’ inner resilience, following the tragic death of a young Chartered Accountant (CA) professional employed at EY India. The remarks, seen as a reference to the passing of Anna Sebastian Perayil, have drawn sharp criticism from opposition party Congress, with some calling her comments "outright cruel."

Perayil, who passed her CA exams in 2023, had been working at EY's Pune office for just four months before her death in July. In a letter to EY India Chairman Rajiv Memani, Perayil's mother alleged that her daughter had been overworked, facing a "backbreaking" workload that affected her "physically, emotionally, and mentally." The government has announced an investigation into the work environment at EY following her death.

Speaking at an event at a private medical college on Saturday, Sitharaman discussed the incident without directly naming Perayil or EY.

"…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.

She emphasised that while educational institutions prepare students academically, they must also impart life lessons, particularly in stress management and inner strength, which she linked to spirituality.

"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," Sitharaman said. "Believe in God, we need to have God's grace. Seek God, learn good discipline. Your Atma shakti will grow only from this. The inner strength will come only with growing Atma shakti."

Sitharaman called on colleges and universities to integrate divinity and spirituality into their curriculum to help students cope with life's pressures. "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," she added.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, however, strongly condemned Sitharaman's remarks, accusing the government of being insensitive to the plight of young professionals.

"It is downright cruel on the part of the finance minister to blame Anna and her family by suggesting that she should have learned 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," Venugopal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

He also criticised the government for failing to address corporate exploitation of young professionals, adding, "The toxic work environment should have triggered an honest review of corporate practices and led to necessary reforms that protect employees."

The government has yet to respond to the Congress leader's statements.

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