Union Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and actor-singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi indulged in a funny Twitter exchange after he said he would consider the name ‘Bantacruz’ for the Navi Mumbai International Airport to “lighten the mood a bit.”

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi on Twitter jokingly said, “Banta sent a letter to the Aviation Minister: Sir, it’s my humble request that the new airport in Navi Mumbai should be named ‘Bantacruz’ since my brother already has one airport named after him. ‘Santacruz’!!!“

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Replying to this, the Aviation Minister tweeted, “The Ministry of Civil Aviation receives many requests for naming & renaming of existing & under construction airports. To lighten the mood a bit, I want to inform my friend Banta that his formal proposal has not yet been received by us!”

The Navi Mumbai airport is currently under construction at Ulwe Kopar-Panvel and the Maharashtra government Industrial Development Corporation of Mumbai (CIDCO) had announced that the airport will be named after the founder of Shiv Sena, the ruling alliance of state, Bal Thackeray.

But, villagers and local politicians have been protesting against the name and demanding that the airport be renamed after late activist DB Patil.

The Navi Mumbai airport would be the second international airport in Mumbai after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.