New Delhi, Mar 19 (IANS): Amid the raging political controversy over ‘Shakti’, at least eleven ‘Shakti Ammas’ shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district on Tuesday.

While PM Modi along with top BJP leaders were on the stage for a public address, the group of eleven women dressed in traditional attires climbed the stage and shared a ‘special moment’ with the Prime Minister.

Shakti Ammas, 11 in total, also posed for the photograph along with PM Modi while the latter greeted them all and hailed the women's power.

The gesture came as a special acknowledgement of the women's power that PM Modi has repeatedly underlined and vowed to fight for, especially after the insult meted out to ‘Shakti’ by Opposition leaders.

PM Modi, addressing the huge gathering said that those who don’t respect the Shakti and conspire against it will be destroyed on their own, our scriptures have been witness to it, in the past.

The controversy over ‘Shatki’ began after Rahul Gandhi, at a recent INDIA alliance rally in Mumbai, claimed that the Congress was fighting against a Shakti, whose ‘mask’ is Narendra Modi. He vowed to continue to his fight against this ‘shakti’ of oppression and suppression, allegedly by the misuse of Central agencies.

However, Rahul soon found himself on the back foot as his ‘Shakti’ statement received a huge backlash in political circles as well as on social media.

PM Modi, in today’s rally, lambasted the INDIA alliance for casting aspersions on Shakti, a term that represents women's power and mother power.

He also said that the intentions of the INDIA leaders became clear in their first public rally.

“During their first rally in Mumbai, they made statements about destroying 'Shakti', about fighting against 'Shakti'. Their statement has been a sheer insult to the Hindu religion, Hindu faith,” PM Modi said.

PM Modi further hit out at the Opposition parties, Congress and DMK in particular for their hatred towards Hinduism and repeated slander on the Hindu faith with their distasteful and disgusting remarks.