Rahul Gandhi speaks to EY worker's parents, assures personal commitment, support

Rahul Gandhi expressed grief over Anna's death and also sought details from her parents about the work pressure their daughter was facing.

In Short

• Rahul Gandhi offers personal commitment to Anna's parents
• Congress MP says he would be happy to raise issue in Parliament
• Anna Sebastian complained of exhaustion due to work pressure

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday spoke with the parents of the Ernst and Young employee who died allegedly due to work pressure and vowed his 'personal commitment' and his party's support to ensure that Anna Sebastian Perayil's tragic death becomes a catalyst for change.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) in which he could be seen having a video call with Anna's parents.

"I spoke with the heartbroken parents of Anna Sebastian, a bright and ambitious young professional whose life was tragically cut short by toxic and unforgiving work conditions. In the face of unimaginable grief, Anna's mother has shown remarkable courage and selflessness, turning her personal loss into a powerful plea for safer and fairer workplaces for all", Rahul Gandhi said in his post.

The Congress MP further said "I have promised Anna’s family my personal commitment, along with the full support of the Congress party, to ensure that this tragedy becomes a catalyst for change".

In the video call, Rahul Gandhi can be heard saying to Anna's parents that he regretted the tragedy they were going through. He further sought from them the details of the work atmosphere at Ernst and Young. "How was the work atmosphere there? Was it very toxic? Is that what was going on there?" Rahul asked.

Anna's mother, Anita Augustine, replied that her daughter always complained about the long working hours at EY. "They have to work continuously, night, Saturday, Sunday. Children were made to work like that, mainly new employees. She had no time for herself", Augustine said, and broke down.

She further pointed out that only in India, children are subjected to such torture. "We got freedom in 1947, but our children are still working like slaves", she added.

Meanwhile, Anna's father Sibi Joseph requested Rahul Gandhi to raise the issue in Parliament. To which the Congress leader replied that he would be happy to do that and assured Anna's parents of any help.

"However we can support your cause, we would be happy to do that", the Rae Bareilly MP stressed.

Earlier on Saturday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he spoke to Sibi Joseph, who suggested to him to propose legislation in Parliament for a fixed calendar to regulate working hours across all workplaces. The Congress leader agreed to Joseph's suggestion.

Anna Sebastian Perayil, who joined E&Y India in March, died on July 20 after complaining of exhaustion. The incident came to light earlier this week after her mother Anita Augustine's open letter to the company went viral, in which she alleged that Anna was subjected to "extreme work pressure".

The incident triggered widespread outrage on social media, especially over the fact that no one from E&Y attended the funeral of the employee. Ernst and Young India chairperson Rajiv Memani also came under heavy criticism after he denied the claim that "work pressure" was behind the death of the employee.