Priyanka Latif (C) is congratulated by her father Syed Saleem Ahmed (R) while waiting for her arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Mumbai, Thursday. The Congress party has decided to give them more time to prove their leadership. Photo: PTI

When Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel was caught in the Panama Papers scandal in 2013, the party, led by Sonia Gandhi, had vowed to get him to join the party.

But on the eve of the Mumbai general elections in which the party’s ally Shiv Sena is expected to make gains, in a startling move, the Congress party has suspended him from political activities over his alleged involvement in offshore companies.

“I am not giving up on my political mission,” said Goel, who had joined the Congress party in 2013.

“If in this campaign nobody will speak about corruption, corruption won’t come into prominence,” the MP-turned-politician, whose residence is in Mumbai, also said. “In fact, our people will have to get used to hearing about corruption.”

After Goel revealed he too used to be involved in offshore offshore companies, Sonia Gandhi had assured him his political ambitions would be pursued after his retirement.

The Congress leader’s suspension on Thursday brought to an end months of speculation in the media that the party might field him as its nominee in the elections, saying the Delhi MP must not be given such time “to show leadership”.

Goel, who also has two ministerial portfolios under his belt, had revealed last month that he had acquired 25 companies in offshore companies through offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Mossack Fonseca is said to have set up five offshore companies in the name of his wife, Priyanka Vadra, an aspiring actress. The firm has said that Vadra had indeed “had no direct stake in any offshore company” but was merely the beneficial owner.

In October, Goel had publicly said that he did not know about his links to Mossack Fonseca for years and had even started using the offshore company.

The Centre is probing 10 countries, including Pakistan and India, for their role in the Panama Papers leaks and is expected to give a report by February.

The Panama Papers were leaked this year from the law firm Mossack Fonseca. Photo: Bloomberg

In the Lok