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EY employee death: Rahul Gandhi speaks to Anna’s family, says he will personally fight for their cause

Gandhi assured them that he will fight for this cause in his personal capacity as the Leader of the Opposition.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday spoke with the parents of Anna Sebastian Perayil, who died due to alleged extreme work pressure at Ernst & Young, and assured them that he will fight for the cause of improving working conditions for the millions of professionals in India.

Gandhi assured them that he will fight for this cause in his personal capacity as the Leader of the Opposition.

Gandhi spoke with the parents of Anna Sebastian via a video call arranged by the Chairman of All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) Praveen Chakravarty who visited their home in Kochi.

He offered his sympathies at Anna’s sudden and tragic demise and lauded the family’s courage and selflessness to speak up at this extremely difficult moment about this issue in the larger interest of improving working conditions for the millions of professionals in India, a statement issued by the AIPC said.

Gandhi also instructed the AIPC Chairman to create an awareness movement in Anna’s memory for all working professionals in India.

“Following Gandhi’s instructions, AIPC will announce a helpline soon to collect information from corporate professionals about issues related to work stress and toxic work culture. Post which, AIPC will seek to come up with draft guidelines for better working conditions for professionals in the corporate sector,” the statement said.

In a post on X last night, senior Congress leader and former AIPC Chairman Shashi Tharoor said he had a deeply emotional and heartrending conversation with Sibi Joseph, the father of Anna Sebastian who passed away after a cardiac arrest following four months of deeply stressful seven-day weeks of 14 hours a day at Ernst & Young.

“He suggested, and I agreed, that I raise the issue of legislating, through Parliament, a fixed calendar for all workplaces, whether in the private sector or the public, that would not exceed eight hours a day, five days a week. Inhumanity at the workplace must be legislated out of existence with stringent punishment and fines for offenders. Human rights do not stop at the workplace!” Tharoor said.

 “Will raise this matter at the first opportunity during the next session of Parliament,” Tharoor said.

Perayil was a 26-year-old chartered accountant (CA) who died allegedly due to extreme work pressure at the firm.

EY on Wednesday had issued a statement stating, “We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian’s tragic and untimely passing in July 2024.”

Since the death, EY has been in touch with the family, helping them but it is only now that her family has chosen to write to the company, complaining about the “excessive workload”, it had said.

EY has said it will continue to improve and provide a healthy workplace in its offices throughout the country.

The Ministry of Labour & Employment is investigating an alleged “unsafe and exploitative work environment”, days after the tragic demise of Anna Sebastian Perayil who worked with S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, news agency PTI reported.

India News

Jharkhand Election Phase 1: 64.86% voter turnout till 5pm

Former Chief Minister and  BJP candidate Champai Soren is contesting against JMM rival Ganesh Mahali in the Seraikela seat

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Jharkhand Election Phase 1: 64.86% voter turnout till 5pm

As the first phase of the Jharkhand Assembly election for 43 seats concluded on Wednesday, the voter turnout stood at 64.86 per cent till 5 pm. The BJP-led NDA is looking to oust the JMM-led coalition in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that infiltration remains the biggest issue in Jharkhand.

The 43 seats where election is being held, are primarily located in the tribal-dominated South Chotanagpur, northern Palamu and Kolhan regions. Among the seats voting today, 20 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) and six for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Furthermore, Two of the seats, namely,  Chatra and Simaria are located in the state’s most backward district, also called Chatra. 

The BJP has offered 25 promises as part of its Sankalp Patra, addressing a range of issues such as infiltration, Uniform Civil Code, and the INDIA bloc has underlined seven guarantees in the fields of education, domicile policy, social justice, food, Maiyya Samman Yojna, jobs, and farmers welfare, replicating its model in Karnataka and Telangana.

While the BJP assured that the tribal identity will be fully preserved even though the party plans to implement the UCC in the state, the INDIA bloc has relied on the social justice plank, promising 28% reservation for tribals; 12% for Dalits and 27% for OBCs, alongside protection of the interests of the minorities in the state.

Meanwhile, in one of the major contests, former chief minister and  BJP candidate Champai Soren is contesting against JMM rival Ganesh Mahali in the Seraikela seat. Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren has been fielded by the saffron party in Ghatsila, against JMM candidate and Jharkhand Cabinet minister Ram Das Soren. Former Congress CM Madhu Koda’s wife, former MP Geeta Koda, will be contesting on a BJP ticket against sitting Congress MLA Sona Ram Sinku in Jaganathpur. Former BJP CM and ex-Union minister Arjun Munda’s wife Meera Munda is in the fray against sitting MLA Sanjib Sardar in Potka.

The second phase of the Jharkhand Assembly Election will take place on November 20. The results for the election will be declared on November 23.

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Delhi Pollution: BJP demands closure of schools in national capital, says AAP government utterly failed

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that both private and government schools should be shut down for the safety of children, given the alarming level of air pollution in the national capital and its adjoining regions.

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Delhi Pollution: BJP demands closure of schools in national capital, says AAP government utterly failed

As Delhi continues to choke with hazardous air pollution, the BJP on Wednesday demanded the AAP government to urgently close all schools up to Class 5. They also slammed the Delhi government for allowing the city to devolve into a gas chamber.

In a press conference, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that both private and government schools should be shut down for the safety of children, given the alarming level of air pollution in the national capital and its adjoining regions.

He added that children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution. He also pointed out the lack of government clinics providing essential treatments to mitigate these dangers.

The Delhi BJP President emphasised that the AAP government has utterly failed to manage pollution levels in the national capital, mentioning that PM 2.5 concentrations have soared beyond 400 and PM 10 levels exceeded 1,000. Virendra Sachdeva said that Delhi is now a gas chamber where people are choking and suffering from respiratory issues.

Delhi saw its first dense fog of the season on Wednesday, with air quality recorded as very poor. As per the real-time data from the Central Pollution Board (CPCB), the air quality index has surged to 366. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) stated that the pollution had reduced visibility to 100 metres (328 feet) in some places by around 8 a.m. It said the city’s temperature dropped to 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday morning from 17.9 C on Tuesday and may fall further as sunlight remains cut off due to the smog.

Notably, the second stage of Graded Response Action Plan remains in force in the national capital, which entails mechanical sweeping and water sprinkling on identified roads, and implementation of dust control measures at construction and demolition sites.

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Election Commission officials check CM Eknath Shinde’s bag amid Uddhav Thackeray’s allegation

The Chief Minister’s bags were checked after his helicopter landed at the Palghar Police ground helipad.

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Election Commission officials check CM Eknath Shinde’s bag amid Uddhav Thackeray’s allegation

The Election Commission on Wednesday checked Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s bag amid Uddhav Thackeray’s allegation.

The Chief Minister’s bags were checked after his helicopter landed at the Palghar Police ground helipad. The action followed after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray questioned the election panel after his bags were checked by officials. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said his bags had been inspected by the election authorities after he arrived in Latur and Yavatmal districts over the last two days.

He asked the Election Commission officials if the same action will be taken against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Addressing a public meeting in Wani, Uddhav Thackeray said that he is not angry with the ECI officials as they were doing their duty, and questioned whether they check the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis.

Reacting to the allegations, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that Uddhav Thackeray was trying to divert the attention by needlessly protesting against the checking of his bags by poll officials and was seeking votes by whining.

The Deputy Chief Minister questioned what is wrong in checking bags, adding that their bags were also checked during campaigning, and that there was no need for this level of frustration. He mentioned that the Election Commission officials followed the same procedure with his campaign team too.

Earlier in the day, bags of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar were also checked by EC officials in Baramati. The Maharashtra BJP had also posted a video on X showing officials checking Devendra Fadnavis’ bags.

The Maharashtra Assembly Election will be held on November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 13.  

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