Nirmala Sitharaman faces outrage over remarks about EY staff's death

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sparked a row saying people need inner strength to handle pressure, referring to a 26-year-old chartered accountant who died allegedly from work pressure, NDTV reported.

Sitharaman reportedly said that the strength to handle stress can only be achieved by divinity, triggering a flurry of reactions on line with Opposition terming her remarks ‘insensitive’.

Finance Minister was addressing a gathering at Chennai medical college when she mentioned Sebastian Perayil's death without referring to Ernst & Young, where Anna worked.

Sitharaman said there was a report two-three days before that a woman who had studied CA well died as she was unable to cope with the work pressure, adding that ‘Whatever you study and the job you do, you should have the inner strength to handle that pressure and this can be achieved through divinity only.’

The Finance Minister urged young people to believe in God as they need God’s grace and she urged them to learn discipline to grow ‘Atmashakti’, adding that 'The inner strength will come only with growing Atmashakti.’

Many on social media quickly reacted to the speech, saying that the Finance Minister did not address the issue of toxic workplace, while accusing her of making ‘insensitive remarks’.

Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rajya Sabha MP from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb) reacted to the Minister saying Anna had inner strength that helped her clear the ‘grueling Accountancy degree’ adding that it was the toxic work culture, which took her life, should be addressed.

CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said that Sitharaman belittled and demeaned ‘struggles of working people across the country’, alongside pointing out that ‘inhuman working conditions, pervasive unemployment and lack of social security’ are creating stress.

P Sandosh Kumar further said that advising people to ‘rely on God’ rather than addressing these issues is ‘bizarre and insensitive’.