New Delhi: Controversial televangelist Zakir Naik will be extradited from Malaysia to India if New Delhi seeks his extradition, Malaysia’s deputy Prime Minister was cited as saying on Wednesday.

Singapore-based Straits Times said deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Wednesday told the Malaysian Parliament that India had not requested Naik’s extradition yet, and that Malaysia will go ahead with deportation if requested via the Mutual Legal Assistance programme between the two countries.

The radical Muslim preacher, a permanent resident in Malaysia, is wanted in India on charges of inciting terror and delivering hate speeches. His passport has been revoked by the Indian government.

Naik, 52, and a medical doctor by profession, sparked controversy with his puritanical brand of Islam—recommending the death penalty for homosexuals and those who abandon Islam asgovernment because of his popularity, the Straits Times report said. He has a substantial following in Malaysia, with both Dr Zahid and Prime Minister Najib Razak posting photos taken with him last year on Facebook, it said.

The report did not elicit an immediate response from New Delhi.

One official said the Indian government would wait for an official communication on the subject from the Malaysian government rather than depend on news reports. “Nothing has been conveyed to us officially," the official cited above said.

According to the Indian home ministry, the extradition request was yet to be finalised and the ministry will offer comments once the procedure had been finalised.

Briefing reporters last week, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said India was likely seek Naik’s extradition from Malaysia in the