Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 24 -- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday defended the state government's flagship LIFE Mission housing scheme, asserting that the completion of five lakh houses stands as an unprecedented achievement and a matter of pride for the state.

Addressing the issue, Vijayan said, "Kerala has always been a model in many areas. When the LDF government came to power in 2016, we found that a large number of the petitions received were from people asking for houses. We treated it as a common social issue and held extensive discussions."

The Chief Minister explained that the concept of building five lakh houses emerged during consultations.

"The idea of building five lakh houses first came from an individual, ...