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.

Asserting that they would not be cowed down by the RSS-BJP’s “poisonous mindset”, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said his party would launch an agitation against threats to Rahul Gandhi.

Kharge also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to take action against leaders of his party who used derogatory remarks against the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Kharge said BJP leaders make provocative and objectionable statements against Rahul Gandhi but why doesn’t Narendra Modi take action against them, because he himself is afraid?

“These people had stayed at home out of fear even at the time of independence. But the people of Congress were not afraid. They fought for independence, made sacrifices and got freedom for the country. Even today Congress is not going to be afraid,” Kharge charged.

“BJP, RSS leaders, including MLAs and MPs, talk about chopping off the tongues of our leaders. Rahul Gandhi is under attack for speaking the truth and an atmosphere of hate is created against him like (it was done against his grandmother) Indira Gandhi,” Kharge said.

“Such provocative speeches by the BJP and the RSS are ignored by the Prime Minister, who has failed to rein in these leaders and take action against them because he is frightened of them,” he said.

Kharge, who reached Jammu to campaign for Congress candidates in the assembly elections, said Gandhi was being dubbed a “terrorist” and “anti-national” and added that the Prime Minister was encouraging such things and provoking people by not taking action.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) today said that it carried out a “targeted strike” in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut on Friday.

“The IDF (Israeli military) conducted a targeted strike in Beirut.  At this moment, there are no changes in the Home Front Command defensive guidelines. We will update regarding any changes. Details to follow,” it said in a statement.

According to reports, four rockets targeted the building in Dahieh. Ambulances swiftly transported the injured from the scene, while Lebanon’s civil defence urged citizens to stay home in order to keep roads clear for emergency workers.

At least five children have been killed in the strike, with more casualties expected as paramedics arrived at the scene, the reports said.

The attack occurred at rush hour, a little before 4 pm, according to reports.

The strike was captured in videos, revealing widespread debris and charred vehicles lining a bustling thoroughfare, with onlookers congregating around a structure emitting plumes of smoke. The strike was aimed at a building close to the al-Qaem mosque within the residential Haret Hreik neighborhood in south Beirut.

The development comes after Hezbollah unleashed an intense barrage of fire across the border following a wave of stunning attacks targeting the group’s communication devices.

On September 19, the Israeli Military said, “The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.”

For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields—having turned southern Lebanon into a war zone, IDF said in a post on X.

The IDF was operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes and achieve war goals.

With the direction of IDF intelligence, the IAF struck approximately 30 Hezbollah launchers and terrorist infrastructure sites, containing approximately 150 launcher barrels that were ready to fire projectiles toward Israeli territory.

Additionally, the IDF struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and a weapons storage facility in multiple areas in southern Lebanon.

The recent series of attacks involved the simultaneous detonation of numerous pagers and walkie-talkies utilised by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon. The coordinated explosions resulted in the tragic loss of at least 37 lives, including two children, and left nearly 3,000 individuals injured. Lebanon’s Health Minister confirmed that the majority of those harmed were civilians.