SDLP leader Mr Mark Durkan has said Sinn Fein's reluctance to join policing boards should not be allowed to endanger plans to go ahead with Assembly elections.
Mr Durkan today accused Sinn Féin of hedging their bets on policing as an election campaign ploy. Hew said they "were speaking with forked tongue".
The Irish Timesreports today a Sinn Féin source saying the party may not commit to the policing boards before the election scheduled for May.
The newspaper says even if the Sinn Féin leadership is willing to sign up, the process of grassroots consultation may not be complete before campaigning for the May 29th poll begins.
Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams told the party's ardfheis at the weekend that a special ardfheis would be convened to ratify any new position on the issue.
But Mr Durkan said: "They keep telling one group of people, 'yes, we are nearly there and we're going to do it', and of course, on another they will be using the fact that they are holding out on policing as their remaining totem of subversion to appeal to another element of support".
He added that any refusal by Sinn Féin to join the board before an election should not affect a deal being struck at Hillsborough next month.
"I certainly want to see us come forward with a clear deal, a clear understanding as to how we're all going forward and I don't believe that any one party should be able to veto that deal on any one issue," he added.
Additional reporting PA