Rahul Gandhi speaks to Anna Sebastian's parents

Amid the nationwide uproar over the death of Anna Sebastian, 26-year-old employee of Ernst & Young (EY), Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday spoke to her parents and vowed to fight for her cause.  

He also vowed to work towards mitigating the toxic work culture at corporate offices.

Rahul Gandhi spoke to the parents of Sebastian via a video call and offered his sympathies to the family at her untimely demise, said a statement from All India Professionals' Congress (AIPC).

He lauded the family's courage and selflessness to speak up at the difficult moment about this issue in the larger interest of improving working conditions for millions of professionals in the country.

The Congress MP also assured them that he would personally fight for this cause in his capacity as the Leader of the Opposition.

Sebastian Perayil, a chartered accountant (CA) from Kerala started working at Tax consultancy major Ernst&Young (EY)’s Pune office early this year and died just four months later, in July due to "intense work pressure".

Her mother, Anita Augustine, wrote to EY India chairman Rajiv Memani this month, flagging the intense work pressure at its offices and also how it was taking a toll on young lives.

"Rahul instructed the AIPC to create an awareness movement in Anna's memory for all working professionals in India," said the AIPC chief Praveen Chakravarty in a press statement.

He also informed that Rahul has instructed to launch a helpline to seek feedback from corporate professionals about issues related to work stress and toxic work culture.

Chakravarty said that AIPC will soon issue draft guidelines for better working conditions for professionals in the corporate sector.

Earlier, in the day, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also expressed serious concerns over high-pressure work culture, particularly in corporate offices and suggested a 40-hour work week.