New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday termed opposition parties' plan to form a 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance) as a "failed idea," saying they want a weaker government at the Centre.

Interacting with the Bharatiya Janata Party workers from five Lok Sabha constituencies through video-conferencing on his NaMo mobile app, Modi said: "The parties first fight with each other. But whenever they get a chance, they come together to grab power."

The BJP party workers were from Uttar Pradesh's Agra, Madhya Pradesh's Damoh, Rajasthan's Karauli and Dholpur, Karnataka's Mysuru and Chhattisgarh's Raipur.

"Same thing happened in Karnataka. Before elections, they misled the people by attacking each other. And when it was time to form government, they did not waste any time to come together," Modi alleged.

The Prime Minister told party workers: "A few days ago, you must have heard an opposition leader saying that they don't want a strong government. You can understand why they want a weak government."

"When there is a strong government at the Centre, then whole country is benefited. In case of a weaker Centre, only the leaders of an alliance get benefited," he said.

He also slammed the previous government for not respecting the culture and traditions of India.

"India's cultural heritage inspires people across the globe to lead their life normally even while facing many challenges," he said.

"But it was unfortunate that those sitting in government earlier instead of feeling proud of our rich culture felt ashamed," he said.

He said that even after decades of Independence, India was considered as the country of snake charmers.

"And what was most shocking that those who ruled the country for decades encouraged such things," he said.