Kerala Minister slams Sitharaman over comments on corporate employee’s death

Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh has slammed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her perceived insensitive comment on the untimely death of Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old chartered accountant with Ernst & Young, in Pune allegedly owing to work stress earlier this month.

Addressing the media after visiting the home of the deceased here on Tuesday, Mr. Rajesh alleged that Ms. Sitharaman who was part of the Central government, which was supposed to take action against such corporate exploitation, had instead supported such exploitation. Her comments were “shocking” and “heartless”, he said.

“She had talked about stress management and the need for families to equip children to tackle work pressure as a potential solution to making people work up to 16 hours a day. Isn’t there law in this country and shouldn’t it be enforced? Such a comment from Ms. Sitharaman is unsurprising though. For, she comes from a corporate background. She quit her corporate job and joined politics,” Mr. Rajesh said.

It was the BJP government at the Centre that watered down labour laws creating the right atmosphere for massive exploitation by corporates. Labour codes enforced by the Centre usurped the rights of employees. Anna is also a victim of such anti-labour measures of the Centre, the Minister said.

Mr. Rajesh pledged the State government’s support for the fight mounted by the family following Anna’s death. She is a victim of the inhumane mass exploitation prevalent in the corporate sector. Anna’s death is proof that the intellectually employed are as vulnerable to exploitation as those engaged in physical labour, he said.

Published - September 25, 2024 01:32 am IST