THE SDLP has been accused of trying to keep Sinn Féin "off the airwaves" after complaining about RTÉ's decision to broadcast this weekend's ard fheis in the midst of the assembly election campaign.
Earlier this month, The Irish News reported how BBC Northern Ireland would not be broadcasting Gerry Adams’s conference speech on Saturday night because of election guidelines.
Sinn Féin’s annual ard fheis takes place this Friday and Saturday in Dublin’s Convention Centre.
The second day is the eve of the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Easter Rising but also falls just 12 days before the May 5 Stormont poll.
However, RTÉ plans to go ahead with screening the Sinn Féin leader’s speech, including into homes north of the border.
The SDLP's Dolores Kelly said in the past Sinn Féin had been quick accuse the broadcaster of being "partitionist" but the usual critics were so far silent on RTÉ's decision to go ahead with its ard fheis coverage.
"RTÉ is popular in the north. We have a great loyalty to it right across the nationalist community and it is disappointing they have taken this decision," Ms Kelly said.
But education minister John O'Dowd, who is contesting the Upper Bann seat alongside the former SDLP deputy leader, said Ms Kelly's party would be entitled to the same coverage if it stood for election "across the island".
"The SDLP say in their manifesto that Irish unity is something they aspire to," Mr O'Dowd said.
"It seems that the SDLP is more interested in attempting to keep Sinn Féin off the airwaves than promoting the message of Irish unity."
