"If there were any mistakes, I seek apology for the same," Tejashwi Yadav said
The ruling NDA in Bihar on Friday tore into Tejashwi Yadav for his attempt to stave off, in the run up to assembly polls, attacks on the RJD over lawlessness and corruption which routinely made headlines during the 15 years when his parents -- Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi -- ruled the state.
Both the JD(U), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, and the BJP have embarked on a strategy to build a "15 years versus 15 years" narrative with a view to surmounting the incumbency factor as the coalition seeks a fourth consecutive term in power.
The strategy is reflected in slogans inscribed on posters and banners put up by both parties.
Also, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's speech at a "virtual rally" last month and addresses by the Chief Minister to JD(U) workers through video conference recently pointed in the same direction.
Mr Yadav, who has been named by his party as its chief ministerial candidate, sought to counter the strategy by asserting that his father's "contribution towards ensuring social justice is unquestionable".
At a party meeting on Thursday, the 30-year-old also said, "I was too young when we were in power to have realised how things were back then. But, if there were any mistakes, I seek apology for the same".
Nitish Kumar, who headed the NDA government that replaced RJD from power in November 2005, is on the chief ministerial chair for almost 15 years, barring a few months when he had anointed Jitan Ram Manjhi on the post after JD(U)''s massive defeat in 2014 general election.
RJD's rivals term the party's 15 years' rule as "jungle raj" (lawlessness), while Nitish Kumar's tenure is trumpeted as "sushasan" (good governance).
The RJD has always contested the allegations.
"No apology sounds convincing if it comes from a member of the family which has sought to glorify this abominable model of governance by calling it Laluvaad (Laluism)," said Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi, without taking any name.
Coming down heavily on Tejashwi Yadav, state minister and senior JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar fumed, "Tejashwi should give up equivocation and categorically admit that his parents were squarely responsible for the scams and the 118 massacres that took place while they enjoyed power".